


The Path to Hope

by SherlockPendragon501



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of brainwashing, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, JUST A FRIENDSHIP STORY, Not pro-Mon-El, Oliver doesn't approve of Mon-El, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Winn likes making costumes, mentions of torture, no Oliver/Kara romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-01 13:14:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12705717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockPendragon501/pseuds/SherlockPendragon501
Summary: Oliver's dealings with Ra's al Ghul left him with an insatiable bloodlust as a consequence from the Lazarus Pit. Unwilling to remain with his team to whom he could pose a danger, he is sent to Kara Danvers, who Barry Allen believes can help. Kara and Oliver end up finding solace in each other in more ways than one.





	1. Chapter 1

          “Come on, it'll be fun, I promise,” Barry told Oliver for probably the dozenth time that morning. He'd been trying to convince Oliver to go to Earth-38 with him for days, but Oliver was reluctant to participate in anything. He even refused to even go out at night to fight crime; Barry figured that had something to do with Oliver hiding from his friends.

         Oliver bristled at Barry’s words. “I... _can't_ have fun right now.” He looked down, lost in his head as he'd been for the last week. He kept shutting himself into vacant rooms—both in Barry’s apartment and in Star Labs—effectively closing himself off from society. Barry had always known Oliver to be rather antisocial, but he definitely knew this was not typical behavior.

         “What, with all your brooding?” Barry rebutted; he was growing rather impatient with his friend. Oliver glared. “No, seriously, this has gone on long enough. You need to talk with someone, and if it won't be me, and if it won't be your team, it's going to be her,” he said. Oliver seemed surprised at his directness, but didn't say anything. Barry took a breath. “Felicity and Diggle agree.”

         “You've been in contact with the them?!” Oliver barked.

         “Felicity called me a day after you left, telling me to find you! They're worried about you! _How_ can you be so blind to the feelings of other people?!” Barry shouted.

         “Barry,” Oliver said. _Great, the Oliver Queen forced calm._ “I'm doing this to—”

         “Protect them?! From what I can tell, your absence is hurting them a lot more than your presence ever could! Felicity _loves_ you Oliver, she told me when she called! You can't just _abandon_ people right after you promise to be with them.”

         Oliver sighed. “I know this may be hard for you to understand, but Felicity, my team, _you_ , they're all in danger as long as they're around me. _Physical_ danger, too. Ra’s, he—” Oliver trailed off. “This is what you can't know.”      

         “Do you know who you won't pose a physical threat towards? _Supergirl_ . You can't harm her, she's made of _steel,_ and she can help you sort through whatever it is that has been clawing at your brain, I _know_ she can.”

         “This thing—this thing, it _can't_ be helped with a pep talk, and why would ‘Supergirl’ even _want_ to help me? We've never even met.”

         “And it's _because_ you haven't met her that you don’t know why she’d help you. She cares, Oliver, and you need someone you don't have to worry about hurting.”

         “Fine, then.”

 

         Kara’s eyes were fixed on the small television screen above the counter of the alien bar. She’d flown over quickly so she wouldn’t miss anything involving Lena; either something applicable to Kara Danvers, a concerned friend, or Supergirl, whom Kara fancied characterizing as Lena’s protector.

          Kara shook her head, ridding herself of anxieties she had regarding Lena. What could even happen to her? She was simply testifying against her mother in court; the only hurt possible was social or emotional (Kara knew just how intrusive and patronizing the press could be), and although Lena had explicitly expressed her dislike for her adoptive mother, Kara could see no way it could be easy to subject that mother figure to years in prison.

          The Kryptonian pushed her glasses back up and moved further into the bar and closer to the the screen, which was blaring: _“Luthor, the suspected head of the anti-alien terrorist organization…”_

          It was on repeat again. Kara turned to join the table awaiting Alex and Maggie’s announcement, but was stopped by someone familiar.

          “That woman is bad news,” said Mon-el, leaning obnoxiously against the bar counter and drying out an empty glass with a hand towel. Strange, Kara had never known Mon-el to even _think_ about doing dishes, let alone for other people. She supposed he probably hadn’t washed it first.

 _“Luthor claims to be a victim…”_ the newscaster continued. Kara started watching the screen again, if only to avoid awkward eye contact with Mon-el.

          “I hope once she’s convicted, they, uh… They put her in the town square for public shaming,” Mon-el said casually, as if he found the thought amusing. “On Daxam, it really seemed to cut back on recidivism.”

          Kara grimaced, trying to think of the right words. She was reminded yet again why Kryptonians had a famously low opinion of Daxamites. “Uh, well, that kind of punishment actually went away a long time ago.”

          “That’s too bad,” Mon-el said. Kara had to bite her tongue to avoid starting an argument. “Yeah. I haven’t, uh… Haven’t seen you in a while.”

          Wow. Conversation with Mon-el was getting very forced lately.

          “I’ve… I’ve been busy,” Kara replied.

          “Yeah?”

          “Just… Chasing bad guys.” Kara chuckled and looked down, smiling. She’d started thinking of things she’d been doing, and going to lunch with Lena came to mind. Before getting too lost in thought, Kara remembered her conversation with Mon-el. “How are you? How’s Eve?” she asked.

          Mon-el looked surprised. “Oh, great. Great, we are… We’re great. Eve is great. Things are great,” Mon-el replied, rather drawn out.

         “I'm so happy for you,” Kara said. She really was happy, and she wanted to support Mon-El’s relationships with _other_ people. Kara had always suspected that Mon-El gravitated towards her because of their similar backstories and Kara’s understanding of integrating into a new planet. She believed that Mon-El crafting his own relationships would be beneficial to his growth.

         “More drinks for you guys?” Mon-El asked.

         “Yeah, please. I would...we would love—” Kara began, but Mon-El had already turned away. Finally, Kara was able to make her way over to her friends. She shed her tan overcoat and put it on the back of an open wooden chair, revealing the simple olive green dress she was wearing. She sat next to Winn at the four-person table, across from J’onn and diagonal from James. “Another round’s on its way,” Kara informed them all. Everyone at the table nodded their happy agreement, except for J’onn, who was either sulking or thinking.

         “You okay, J’onn?” Kara asked, concerned.

         “Yeah, yeah,” J’onn said, not looking up. He took a breath. “It's just the first time I've been in this bar since, uh...M’gann left.” Kara gave a sympathetic nod.

         “Hey,” Winn interjected, hastily changing the subject. “I'm...I am very excited to meet Alex’s new mystery man.”

         Kara opened her mouth to start telling Winn about the wonders of lesbianism, but was interrupted.

         “Do we know what, um, what he does for a living? Alex’s guy?” James asked.

         “Cop,” Kara answered, smiling smugly.

         “Oh!” Winn said. “No way Alex Danvers dates someone who doesn't own a firearm.”

         Alex and Maggie approached the table, both wearing leather jackets and jeans. Alex wore a rather nervous smile, Maggie was grinning proudly at her girlfriend, and J’onn now wore a smile similar to Kara’s.

         “Hey, you guys,” Alex said. “You remember Maggie, right?” she asked, pointing vaguely at the woman the said woman.

         James thought for a moment. “Yeah. Good to see you again,” he said, smiling warmly.

         “Alex!” Winn laughed. “I...I didn't know. Did you know?” he asked J’onn.

         “Yes, of course I knew. I’m psychic.”

         Alex was rather taken aback by the thought of J’onn reading her mind without her knowing. “How come you never said anything before?” she asked.

         “It's not for me to say,” J’onn replied. “Good for you, Alex.”

         “Yeah,” Alex agreed, smiling fondly at Maggie. Kara noticed the two ladies constantly moving towards each other and touching hands. Their love was so pure; Kara longed for a relation akin to it—love where you can rely on something as simple as touch for reassurance, comfort, and just... _happiness._ Kara was beaming just being in the _presence_ of all that love.

         “Drinks up!” Mon-El’s voice boomed as he intruded on the party, carrying a tray full of drinks. He passed beers out to everyone except for Kara and James, who he gave club soda and water respectively. Kara suspected Mon-El’s treatment and overall attitude towards James had to do with his affections towards Kara. That, or James just wasn't drinking. Maybe Kara was overthinking things.

         “Hi,” Alex said hesitantly to Mon-El.

         “Hey, hi,” Mon-El said. “What's up?”

         “Um, well, I just wanted to tell you that Maggie and I are dating,” Alex said rather quickly. She looked at the Daxamite, anticipating his response.

         Mon-El looked a little confused. “Oh, that was the thing? Okay,” he sad. “Okay, that's...is that a problem here on Earth or…”

         Alex wondered for a moment why, of all the habitable planets in the galaxy, she had to have been born on one so judgemental and discouraging. “Well, on Earth, you know, not everyone supports ladies loving ladies.”

         “Oh, on Daxam it's the more the merrier.”

         “Oh, okay,” said Alex through forced laughter.

         “Hey, do you play pool?” Maggie asked Winn, who was closest to her. She wanted to change the tone of the get-together so that her and Alex’s relationship wasn't treated as abnormal, rather accepted.

         Winn scoffed. “Yeah.”

         “No, you don't,” said James. Mon-El left to tend the bar.

         “What?” Kara thought it absolutely impossible that Winn played pool.

         “It's geometry with sticks, people! Pool is easy,” Winn said.

         “Let's go do it,” Maggie said, chortling. They left to a nearby table, and everyone else stood up to watch.

         “Alex,” James said, gently grabbing her elbow. “Congrats.”

         “Thank you,” Alex said, letting out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

        “Alex, my money’s on your girl,” said J’onn while passing, achieving Maggie's goal of simple acceptance.

         Making sure the others were a safe distance away, James cleared his throat and looked at Kara. “Hey, that cop doesn't know I'm the Guardian, right?”

         “No,” Kara confirmed.

         “Lucky her,” James said.

         The newscaster who was discussing the Luthor trial continued: _“Testifying today against Luthor is her adopted daughter…”_

         “Oh, what a awful thing to have to do,” said Kara, finally in the company of someone she could voice her concerns to.

         “Well, the Luthors have never shied away from doing awful things,” James said.

         “Yeah, but she's not like them!” Kara said defensively, but with some obvious bite. “She knows Lillian is evil. She's doing the right thing, even though she still loves her mother. What she did was brave.”

         James really didn't want to start an argument with Kara, especially at a gathering to appreciate Alex discovering herself. “If you say so,” he said dismissively.

         “I should go see her soon. She could probably use a friend.”

         “Using her friends, that's exactly what I'm worried about—” _crash._ A pool ball flew unexpectedly from the table, Winn the obvious culprit.

         “Woah, buddy. Come on,” James said, as the ball had narrowly missed his head.

         “Sorry!” Winn shouted to basically the whole bar. Kara chuckled, unable to stop herself. She turned to continue telling James how different Lena was from her family, but faintly heard her phone chime in her coat pocket; one of the perks of having superhearing: you never miss a phone call!

        “Gotta get that,” Kara said, hurrying over to see who'd messaged her. James seemed to want to know as well, because he followed her. It made sense—basically everyone Kara knew was wishing the same bar.

        “Who is it?” James asked as Kara read her text.

 

_Hi, Kara. I'm in town and I have a friend I'd really like you to meet. -BA_

 

“Friend of mine,” Kara replied. James looked quizzical. “He's not from around here.” She swiped into her phone and replied to Barry.

 

          _Barry! It's been forever! (For me anyways ;)) I'd love to meet your friend! Come over in an hour? -KD_

 

         Barry chuckled when he received Kara’s text. Yes, it must've been forever on her end; Earth 38 moved much faster than his own. “So, we've got an hour to kill,” he announced.

         Oliver, grumpy as ever, looked at him. “You realize we could just go back to our earth for a few seconds and come back.”

         “You’re telling me Mr. Nighttime Vigilante doesn't want to check out a new  city?”

         “I'm _telling you_ that National City seems just as happy as Central City, and I see no reason in scouting out criminal hotspots when I know an all-powered alien has them covered. I'm obsolete here, may as well act like it,” Oliver said.

This definitely wasn't typical Oliver Queen behavior; Barry let it slide that he'd called Central City happy, but he wouldn't let Oliver make assumptions about National City so quickly. “Happy...but prone to alien invasions. You wouldn't believe what Kara has to deal with.”

          “I'm assuming it's nothing she can't handle,” Oliver replied. “Haven't you noticed? The h— protector of each city always seems to gain adversaries equal to them in power and mind. You get metas with cute nicknames, I tend to get the tactical, vengeful sort, while Kara as you've said, faces alien invasions.”

          “Oooh, conversation with you and Kara is going to be so fun. Comparing villains already…”

          “Enemies, Barry, enemies.”

          “Yeah, whatever. We probably have time to get dinner. There's this good place Kara takes me sometimes… ‘Noonan’s,’ I _think._ ”

          “I'm not that hungry, but I'll get a drink. I take it we’re super speeding,” Oliver said, visibly bracing himself.

          “At least you’ll be prepared this time.”

          “I'm never pre—”

 

          Kara smiled, happy to have arranged some non-biased company—no doubt she'd need some after meeting with Lena; she expected this encounter to be emotional.

         When she got to Lena’s door at L-Corp, Kara knocked and was immediately invited in. The newscaster who had been plaguing Kara’s evening was blaring in this room as well: _“Lillian Luthor’s defense attorneys tried to downplay Lena Luthor’s testimony, characterizing her statements as ‘the angry rant of an estranged daughter.’”_

         “Everyone in National City has got an opinion about me,” Lena said, turning around to look at Kara. She looked upset, but still managed to put on a kind face for her...friend. “Ungrateful daughter, heroine, bitch.”

         “Ugh!” Kara exclaimed.

         “And they've all called for a quote,” Lena said. “Not you though, Snapper Carr hasn't sent you here to shake me down.”

         “No, no. I'm here as a friend,” Kara said. She pulled out the bag of doughnuts she had been hiding behind her back. “I thought you could use some sugary goodness in your life. You eat doughnuts, right?”

         Lena looked at Kara like she was the embodiment of everything good in the world. _She might as well be…_ Lena thought. “Um...well…” she walked towards the bag. “I am human,” she said, finally grabbing the bag and winking at Kara. Kara laughed probably a bit too much and the two sat down on Lena’s white couch. “Thank you, Kara,” Lena said.

         “So, was it awful?” Kara asked.

         “It actually felt good to testify. I got to say my piece and finally distance myself from the Luthor name...and then I came back here to twelve calls from her lawyers. Yeah, she wants to see me.”

         “What do you think she wants?”

         “Probably to tell me my outfit in court was horrible and that I need a makeover,” Lena said before zoning out, apparently lost in thought. “I don't know and I don't care. I just thought I was done with her, you know…I’d finally shut the door on being a Luthor. And there she was, back on my phone sheet. Twelve times. You don't think I should feel guilty for not wanting to see that monster, right?”

          “Well, do you think you would find peace of mind by visiting her and telling her how you really feel?”

         “Even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference. You know...she's been the same way since the day I met her.”

         “I've spent most of my life wishing I could talk to people that are no longer here. _She's_ still here, and she's still your mom.”

         “You're right.”

         

         The next day, Lena decided to visit her mother. She had expected to give her a piece of her mind not... _sympathize_ or begin to forgive her; she finally felt the full effect of not having a mother figure in her life, and realized she ought to give it a chance; perhaps she could change her mother, separate from the Luthor name hand in hand.

 

         Kara shot right over to her apartment after her visit with Lena, but stopped after fumbling with her keys at the door. She pulled out her phone.

 

          _Do they know I'm Supergirl? -KD_

 

_Yep. -BA_

 

_That's okay, right? -BA_

 

_I mean, he has a similar job. -BA_

 

_And he's from a different universe. -BA_

 

          _Curse Barry and his speed texting._ Kara would be happy to be his first worthy opponent, but considering she could see Barry and his friend standing in her living room, responding really wasn't necessary. She opened the door.

          “Hey, Barry, Barry's friend,” she said happily, hanging her coat on a hook. She hurried up to the two.

          “Kara Danvers,” she introduced herself. “Supergirl.” She curtsied.

          “Arrow,” Oliver said, smiling politely and shaking Kara's hand. The Kryptonian looked a little confused. Barry nudged Oliver, who shook his head. “Sorry, Oli—” _ver Queen is dead, I am Al Sahim._ Oliver's eyes widened when he recognized that mantra so clearly in his mind. _No, I'm Oliver Queen!_ But for a moment, he'd been so sure he was something else...

         Barry looked at Oliver funny when he trailed off and  seemed to freeze. He coughed. “Oliver Queen.” There was a passing moment of silence.

         “Resident vigilante of Starling City.” Oliver clarified, chuckling at the awkward introduction. This seemed to lighten the air.

         She batted Barry on the arm. “ _That's_ what you meant when you said he had a similar job!” Barry rubbed his arm where she'd hit him. “You have any powers?”

         “Good aim?”

         “Oh! So you're like my friend Ja—Guar—James! A vigilante!”

         “Basically,” said Barry. “But Oliver's got a little more of a reputation...and a little less of a _team_ right now.”

         “Oh, I'm sorry,” Kara said, looking at Oliver sympathetically.

         “No, no, it's…” _but it's not fine_ “...I left.”

         Kara shifted her weight and the crease appeared in between her eyebrows. “May I ask why?” she asked.

        “There were some—some complications in a plan I had—separate from my team…I'm not safe to be around anymore.” Oliver surprised himself at how easily he told someone he'd only just met, but there was some pure form of compassion in her eyes that told him that if he told her all the bad things they might just go away...and he _needed_ them to just _go away._

         “I'm sure that's not true.”

         “No, it's _definitely_ true. I was—” _starving, laying on the cold floor; smells of delicious fruit wafting through the cold room, inedible without repercussions of pain and delusion_ “I was—” _drowning; drowning in lost lives—lives he'd taken, lives that'd suffered; the cold water piercing his burning wounds, turning them numb along with his heart—_

         “Oliver! No, you don't have to tell us—” Kara started, sensing his panic.

“—Brainwashed. I was brainwashed. I—Ra’s—” breathing was difficult, just like in the pit…

         Barry stood, confused as Kara put a careful hand on Oliver's shoulder; Oliver zoned out like that often— _froze_ often; if Barry knew anything, that _was_ typical Oliver Queen behavior—but Kara seemed to think something was wrong, and considering Oliver wasn't protesting at all, something _was_ wrong—and _‘brainwashed’?_ Barry never really gave credit to Oliver dealing with the extraordinary; even the mirakuru soldiers had seemed mundane.

         “Can you tell us about it?” Kara asked. Oliver huffed and looked down: _no._ “Alright, Oliver, that's fine, that's totally fine. How long are you guys going to stay in town?”

         “Not sure,” Barry said. “We don't really have anywhere to be.”

         “Well, you can stay here,” Kara said. “I only have one bed, and I claim it, sorry, but I have some air mattresses and sleeping bags you could use.”

         “That sounds fantastic!”

         “Superhero slumber party!”

         Oliver looked between the two, eyes wide with confusion and shock. “...Yeah.” So that was his attempt at enthusiasm.

“I'll get them now…” Kara said before speeding away so quickly that it took Barry a moment to notice before he sped after her to help. Oliver was left alone to sigh; he knew he was the odd one out; not only did he not have powers, not have a team, but he was the only one who’d allowed darkness to infect him.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

         Twenty minutes later, the three heroes sat around Kara’s coffee table. Kara and Barry were discussing and laughing about careless mistakes criminals they fought made, such as underestimating powers. In this category, Oliver could only speak of ill-fated moves his opponents made in battle and careless things those he interrogated said, so he said nothing; if Barry had been so repulsed by Oliver’s torturing people, there was no doubt Kara, ray of sunshine, would be even more disgusted.

         Barry laughed when Kara described taking out some robbers with her cousin and then turned to Oliver. “Your sister fights now, right?”

         “Yeah, she fought alongside me for a short while. She got involved with some real bad people.”

         Kara, of course, first guessed his sister got involved in a gang, a band, a boy, drugs...but she didn't want to assume anything, so said nothing (at least outwardly).

         “The League of Assassins?” Barry suggested.

         Oliver scoffed. “Malcolm Merlyn. No, it was me who got in bed with the League. Malcolm got himself into some deep shit; Thea got caught in the crosshairs. I ended up trading her life to become heir to Ra’s al Ghul.”

         “Wait, your sister died so that you could become an heir?” Kara asked, bewildered. If that was the case, she didn't want Oliver in her house.

         “No, almost died. She would've if I didn't join the League.”

         “Oh, that's intense. I'm guessing this is the plan with complications,” said Kara. Oliver nodded.

         “Yeah, yeah. I helped out sometime during this and it did seem _complicated._ You were brainwashed?! I thought the act was part of your plan,” Barry said.

         “It was,” Oliver said. “But I didn't count on some of his methods.”

         “...Do you want to tell us about them? His ‘methods’? This did get resolved, right?” Kara asked.

         “In a way. Ra’s al Ghul is dead.” Oliver looked between Barry and Kara, debating whether or not he should talk. Telling them about what Ra’s did wouldn't help them defeat anything...except maybe _him;_ if that was a possibility, he had to speak. Oddly enough, though, he wanted Barry to leave. On some level, he felt he could only talk to Kara, which made no sense; he didn't _know_ her.

         He didn't know her, but there was some sort of freedom to that, because she didn't know him. She didn't know what he'd done, who he'd met, anything of his history. She was a completely unbiased sort of help. “And as for his methods…” Oliver began. He looked uncertainly into Kara’s welcoming eyes. They looked sad, but we're in a way encouraging him to move forward. He took a deep breath. “Would you talk to me, later, Kara?”

         Kara was a little surprised, but grateful for his... _trust?_ in her. “Of course,” she said, looking at him meaningfully. Oliver looked down, embarrassed for asking that kind of assistance, and silence followed.

         Barry could take a hint. “Actually, I just remembered. I have a—a _thing,_ a...bad guy—cooking. I'm cooking in an oven and having a...thing.” Oliver could take a hint as well, and was thankful for Barry leaving. Kara was shocked; she’d been looking forward to a slumber party, but she was starting to realize that more was to be accomplished than a bit of fun. “Can I just have a word with Kara alone first? To say bye; I don't see her too often.”

         Barry’s wish was silently granted, and the two with powers left the room and then sped down to the sidewalk as not to be overheard by Oliver.

         “Okay, who is this guy?” Kara asked. “It seems like he's been through an awful lot...you want me to help him?”

         “To the best of your ability.”

         Kara nodded, accepting the mission. She turned to go back up into her apartment but Barry grabbed her arm. “You might want some background.”

         “I thought that was for Oliver to say,” Kara bit back, suddenly rather protective.

         “It might be necessary; he was stranded on an island for five years. There are scars; we know he wasn't alone. This Ra’s al Ghul thing—probably just a cherry on top of his trauma. His mother was killed in front of him just last year, and his best friend a year before that. See, now you don't have to get him to tell you this hard stuff.”

         “Rao, that's horrible! He hasn't talked to anyone?”

         “As far as I know, he talks to his one confidante, John Diggle,” Barry said. “But I don't think they're on that kind of terms right now, something to do with the brainwashing—and I'm just guessing off of fragments I've heard, so don't hold me to this.”

         “So, he went to you.”

         “Definitely not to talk. He thinks he poses some sort of physical danger to those around him; he doesn't need to worry about hurting me so much.”

         “And me even less, right. Well, I probably shouldn't leave him waiting up there,” said Kara. “Check in, okay? ‘Bye.” She gave Barry a quick hug and went back up to her apartment.

         She found Oliver sitting criss-cross on the air mattress they'd set up, waiting in the dark.

         “So, now we have two open mattresses. You can have them both, if you want... _or_ I could stay out here and we can watch a movie, play a game, _talk,”_ Kara said. “I have a few things on my mind, things I feel like I need to talk about, but I can't find anyone in my life who just...fits, someone I can talk to about specific things that I can't with others.” She looked at Oliver, a man she'd met just minutes before, trying to figure out how best to ask him to talk with her about her problems with Mon-El, Lena, Alex, James, J’onn, _everyone._ “This is awkward, isn't it?” she laughed nervously.

         “Fairly,” Oliver said. “But we’ll have to overcome that eventually, so...let's just put that away, for now, until it goes away.”

         Kara sat down on the other mattress. “Sounds solid.” She paused. “You do that often? Put feelings away?”

         “There are times,” Oliver started, “when it becomes necessary. Crucial, even. You can't—can’t let your heart overpower your head; it’s best not to let it even get there.”

         Kara thought for a moment. “And there are times when feelings need to be set free,” she said. “So they'll stop struggling.”

         Oliver simply shook his head. “You said you had some things you need to talk about?”

         “Yes, well, when you bring it up, I—I don't know where to begin.”

         “Then start in the middle; bring me into the thick of it all.”

         “So, um, my...friend, Mon-El, he—he crash landed on this planet in a pod, just like I did; he's from Daxam, a neighboring planet of Krypton, where I'm from. Both of our planets were—were destroyed, they're gone, so Mon-El and I have a sort of _connection_ , and that's fine, but he's gotten quite... _clingy_ and I feel like he should be reaching out to others rather than just the first face he saw.”

         “That makes sense,” Oliver said, nodding, “but there's something else that's bothering you.”

         Kara bit her lip. “I think Mon-El has feelings for me that I—that I cannot return. Honestly, he's taking up a lot of my headspace that I can't actually share; there's someone else in my life that needs help as well, and that person, well...I think my feelings for them may extend beyond friendship.”

         “You should know that I'm probably not the best person to go to for relationship advice,” Oliver said. “But have you tried explaining to Mon-El that you don't have the same feelings?”

         “Well, I—I don't want him to feel rejected. He's still new to this world, and I don't want to, you know, put him off of relationships with others because of a disheartening experience.”

         “So, you'd sacrifice your happiness so that Mon-El could get a taste of false love? How do you think he'd feel once you had to leave or you found real love?”

         “I, um…well I guess then we’d both be victims. What do I do instead?”

         “You said he was your friend? Express to him how much you value his friendship, and how you don't want that to change; encourage other relationships, as I'm sure you're already doing, and perhaps make a move towards that other person you mentioned. Ask him for advice with that other relationship, so he knows you're taken but doesn't feel excluded.”

         “That...that actually seems like a good idea. Or good _ideas,_ plural,” said Kara. “And you said you weren't good for relationship advice.”

         “No, I had my reasons.”

         “What, are you chronically single? Handsome face like that, I don’t believe it,” said Kara, playfully. “Or are you asexual? Sorry for assuming…”

         Oliver chuckled. “No, no, Kara. I've just made some bad decisions; I was raised a complete asshole.”  

         “You're not still an asshole, are you?”

         “I hope not.”

         They sat in silence for a minute or so, Kara waiting for Oliver to talk about his own problems and Oliver probably knowing this. Eventually, Kara decided snacks were necessary. It was long after dinner time, so popcorn or dessert would have to do.

         “You want some popcorn?” Kara asked, standing up and waltzing over to a cupboard in her kitchen.

         “No, thanks. I just ate.”

         Something in Oliver’s voice told her not to believe him, but she wasn't exactly going to grill him or x-ray his stomach (which she just realized she could do). She went and got the popcorn anyway, not so much because she was hungry but because on some level she wanted to demonstrate her popcorn-by-laser vision ability to Oliver. She set the microwave popcorn bag in a (very) large bowl and aimed her heat vision at it, popping most of the kernels almost on impact. She didn't get the surprised reaction from Oliver that she’d expected (wanted); he just smiled, and then  looked sad.

         Kara carried the bowl over and set it on the coffee table near Oliver. “You're missing out, see?” She grabbed a handful of the popcorn and threw them one at a time into the air, trying and failing to catch them in her mouth. Oliver looked pained. “You can still have some, if you want, you know.”

         Oliver shook his head. “No, I…” _I'm not hungry._ The words died in his mouth. Oliver _was_ hungry; he'd hardly eaten since his return from the League, and even there he was often force-fed—he'd learned not to trust food. Ra’s would drug it, and Oliver would see things that weren't there: people he’d lost, people he’s killed, people who had hurt him. He knew that there was nothing wrong with Kara’s popcorn, or with basically everything that had been offered to him since he'd been with Barry, and he was incredibly frustrated with himself for subconsciously believing that there was; there was some connection Oliver had made with food, and he didn't know how to get rid of it.

         “God, yes, I want some!” Oliver froze, surprised when he let himself exclaim this.

         “Okay, geez. If you want something here, you can have it. No need to be...polite, or whatever,” Kara said. She edged the popcorn bowl closer to Oliver. “Here, have some.”

         Oliver shook his head slowly, seemingly to himself. “I—I don't think I can.”

         Kara stopped chewing and looked at Oliver, eyebrows knitting. “Why don't you think so?”

         “Because…” Oliver seemed to shut down again.

         “You know you can tell me anything, right? Nothing leaves this room; certainly not this dimension.”

         Oliver thought for a moment. He'd already made the decision to talk to Kara, even _asked_ her to talk to him; he couldn't exactly back out, pretend nothing was wrong...but the idea of telling Kara, or _anyone,_ of what exactly happened was seeming less and less like a good idea; if he were to say something, what if it turned out it wasn't true, that he was imagining things? Wouldn't that make him a liar, or make Kara exert herself talking about the wrong area? He couldn't exactly correct her in a conversation he’s started...

         He breathed deeply. “When I was with the League, the food they gave me was —more often than not—drugged. It was all I was given, so there were times I'd _have_ to eat it, just to survive...and it made me _see_ things. Things just in my head. They’d leave me chained to the floor of a room, alone, and I'd have to face whatever... _whoever_ I saw. And when I was training, I'd sometimes see my friends, my team, my _family,_ and I...I—I _killed_ them. And it wasn't even like I _knew_ I was hallucinating. It's all kind of foggy, but I think that I thought I was actually killing them.”

         Kara didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't that. She wasn't sure if she was quite qualified to help him with this—it may have been only Diggle who _was_ —but he’d helped her with her problems (which were no doubt unfamiliar) and he had confided in her. “Well, you were brainwashed, right? It wasn't actually you, and it wasn't actually your friends.”

         “Yes, but I _felt_ like myself. It all happened so gradually I didn't even know it was happening.”

         Kara wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this, but she still wanted to help. “This popcorn isn't drugged or anything. Nothing in my house is, that I'm aware of, other than medications and stuff. Food here is sa- _afe_.”

         “Yes, I _know_ that nothing's wrong with the food I've been given; I _know_ that I'm losing weight; I _know_ that this is unhealthy, and that it has to end, but it's just _so hard_ to convince myself that nothing's going to happen if I _do_ eat.”

         “I don't know how to convince you otherwise,” Kara said. “But we _will_ find a way to get through this. Honestly, I'm probably not going to let you leave this dimension  until we have.” She paused. “How’s drinking?”

         “Well, I can, for one. I had access to water when I wanted it; they didn't want me collapsing out of dehydration during training. The only time _that_ was drugged was probably when Felicity, my, um...girlfriend? I mean, we got together, but nothing happened after that...yet, we kind of got separated by...well, Ra’s.”

         “And you didn't return to her?”

         “No! I just told you I was willing to _kill_ my friends, do you _really_ think it's safe for her to be around me?!”

         “But you're not brainwashed anymore, right?”   

         “...Right, but a part of what he did to me remains: the bloodlust.”

         “The...bloodlust,” Kara seemed confused.

         “Ra’s al Ghul has this sort of...pit, it's called the ‘Lazarus Pit’ because it has the ability to heal wounds; even bring people back to life, but at a cost. The waters, they're made up of lost souls, so as you take for them, it take from you, and you need to...sate yourself; take lives to replace the ones you borrowed from.”

         “So this how you saved your sister?”

         “Yes, she was mortally wounded by Ra’s. I know she’ll have the same bloodlust, over time, but for her it may take longer to fester; she was only healed once.”

         “But you have the ‘bloodlust’ too? What happened?”

         “Well, Ra’s, he sensed my defiance, my deception, early on, I think. He wanted to give me something that would... _bind_ me to the League of Assassins, so I'd know my place, and I'd stay. So…he hurt me, _over_ and _over_ again, and then he'd drown me in the pit until I'd healed.”

         “ _Rao_ , are you okay?!”

         Oliver looked hesitant, although he'd basically already revealed himself to be _not_ okay. “Besides the, uh, the wanting to kill people...mostly.”

         “Mos—”

         Oliver interrupted her. “Can we—can we stop talking about this? For...now?”

         “Yes, of course. We’ve...you've shown me through a lot today.” Kara said. Oliver chuckled mirthlessly. “And Oliver?” He looked her in the eye. “I really appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me all of this. I know it's kind of weird, telling everything to someone you just met.”

         “Nice, though, honestly; I'm starting to remember what it feels like to breathe.”

         The two smiled at each other, however slightly. Kara wanted to keep eating her popcorn, but it seemed appropriate considering Oliver’s admission.

         “This Ra’s guy didn't give you popcorn, did he?”

         “No,” Oliver said. “But it's more the idea of eating _anything_ than the food itself.”

         “Do you think you could _try_ to eat something?”

         Oliver looked apprehensive, but gave a tiny shrug.

         “Here,” said Kara, putting about four pieces of popcorn into Oliver’s hand. “Say, Felicity—that was her name, right? Just took this out of the microwave and you've gotten home from a long day, okay? Just picture Felicity, nothing else. It's warm, and it's buttery, and she—” Kara took another piece of popcorn from the bowl, surprising Oliver, and launched it towards his mouth. “Throws it at your face!”

         Oliver somehow managed to catch the piece of popcorn in his hand. “Thanks for the effort, Kara.” Kara sighed. “I swear I didn't mean to catch it though…”

         Ugh, he felt awful. Kara tried something right after he accepted her offer of help and he'd shut her down. Not on purpose; there was a projectile shooting at his face, it was only natural he'd catch it—but he probably looked as if he didn't believe Kara could help him, or wasn't taking her seriously. Oliver _really_ didn't want Kara to stop trying to help…

         He put the piece of popcorn that was in his hand into his mouth before he could think about it, and swallowed having barely even chewed. His body’s reaction was disappointing; he'd expected to feel...well, better. Obviously, he knew a single piece of popcorn wasn't really going to change anything, but he'd thought that something, _anything_ in his stomach would do a part to ease him of his hunger. He was wrong.

         Kara looked at him proudly. “I guess I'll congratulate you?”

         “I kind of regret that, actually,” Oliver said quietly.

Kara seemed to want to normalize the situation. “That's...that's fine. It's fine. So, I'm going to us a smoothie. It's basically a liquid, right? Do you think you could drink it?” Oliver nodded vigorously. “It's the kind that looks gross, with spinach and stuff, but don't worry, I'll make it taste good. I've got chocolate flavored protein powder and everything, not that I've ever used it…”

          _God, that's such an easy answer._ “Should I—should I help?”

         “Well, it's not that complicated, but sure.”

         Kara set about getting ingredients while Oliver set up the blender.

         “Hey, so do you think I could take you to the DEO tomorrow? Show you around and maybe get you an IV?” Kara said. “Maybe we could go out together.” Oliver looked at her funny and Kara gasped. “That's not what I meant—I meant to fight crime and stuff...as we do…”

         Oliver laughed. “Sounds good. So, do you go out at night?”

         “When it's necessary,” Kara answered. “But I usually just work during the day. I'm a reporter; I need time to sleep.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Less angst in this one!

Oliver was thankful, in the morning, that he had managed to convince Kara to sleep in her own bed and not the mattress adjacent to his; his nightmares could've been humiliating. It wasn't as if Oliver was new to nightmares, but...these ones, since the league, were…they were different. Many of his sessions with Ra’s would end with Oliver being unconscious, and when he woke up, he'd be back in that desolate room. Now, every time he woke up in the morning, it was especially hard to tell where he was. He didn't want Kara to witness that confusion.

He stood up and saw a note on Kara’s kitchen island.

 _Hey, Oliver!_  
_Just getting some crime-fighting out of the way! I'll be back before 7:30. Help yourself to the smoothie and anything else, if you're up to it. Your bag’s by the door (Barry brought it over)._  
_P.S.— :) :) :) :) :)_

 _What_ _have_ _I_ _gotten_ _myself_ _into_? was Oliver’s first thought upon reading the last line, but on some level it brought some sort of happiness. That was strange. He looked over to the counter and saw that the blender had been refilled with the greenish smoothie. Oliver remembered the night before when Kara actually had to wrest the smoothie away from him for fear he would choke. But Oliver was so sure he wasn't going to choke, he was just so hungry!

Kara wasn't there anymore, so this morning there was nothing preventing Oliver from drinking as much as he pleased. Almost jumping over the island, Oliver rushed over to the blender and picked up the blender jar. He started to chug from the side before realizing he wasn't quite as hungry as he'd been the night before, and that there was really no rush to drink it. He settled for taking a large sip every so often.

He looked out Kara’s window. The remnants of the night still remained, making the sky a sort of gray. He reckoned it was nearly seven.

 _Shit_. Kara was up before him, so she must've seen him in his sleep. Oliver found himself dreading the time when Kara would return. Almost as if on cue, Oliver heard footsteps approaching the door…but they sounded masculine, heavy. Oliver considered maybe that came with super strength, but it didn't stop him from setting the blender down and preparing himself for a fight when the door rattled and someone entered.

This individual was not, however, Kara. It was a white man with a pointed nose and slightly large forehead. The man sauntered in before spotting Oliver, when his face fell.

“Woah, I didn't know Kara had a—” Mon-El started.

“Who are you?” Oliver growled.

“Is Kara here?”

The only response Mon-El got from Oliver was a deepened glare and a clenched fist. Oliver didn't yet know if this man was friend or foe, and until he did, he wasn't telling anything. Mon-El started to walk further into the house, but Oliver moved in front of him.

“Why are you here?” Oliver asked.

Mon-El tried to look and walk behind Oliver, who simply moved side to side to block his getting any further. Oliver realized, in that moment, what his being here in his nightclothes must look like.

“Dude! Chill out! I just want to go wake Kara up!”

“Does she know you're coming?”

“No, I was going to surprise her.” Mon-El explained.

“You were going to ‘surprise’ her by waking her up.”

If Mon-El were less...superpowered, he’d’ve shrunk back and probably his his head under a pillow at the look Oliver was giving him then. Instead, he shrugged.

“Get out.” Oliver said.

“Huh? Why?” Mon-El countered, crossing his arms and shifting his weight into his other leg.

“You've entered a woman’s apartment without her knowledge or permission. On what planet is that acceptable?!”  
Mon-El shrugged again. “Daxam.”

“D—Daxam?” Oliver remembered his conversation with Kara the night before: ‘ _my_... _friend_ , _Mon_ - _El_ , _he_ — _he_ _crash_ _landed_ _on_ _this_ _planet_ _in_ _a_ _pod_ , _just_ _like_ _I_ _did_ ; _he's_ _from_ _Daxam_ , _a_ _neighboring_ _planet_ _of_ _Krypton_ …’ and Mon-El was the only one from Daxam. “Mon-El?”

A swooping noise could be heard. “Hey, Oli—Mon-El?! What are you doing here?!” Kara exclaimed. She kept her tone far from unpleasant, but her surprise—and perhaps displeasure—was evident.

“Oh! I, uh,” Mon-El pointed at Oliver. “What is _he_ doing here?! You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend!” Oliver rolled his eyes.

“I don't,” Kara said promptly, walking past the two and over to the kitchen island. “And I don't intend to anytime soon. Oliver is a friend. A superhero from another universe. So— Mon-El, Oliver. Oliver, Mon-El.”

Oliver extended his hand but kept his face placid. Mon-El took his hand and shook it.

“You have an unnecessarily strong grip, Mon-El,” Oliver commented. _Or_ _perhaps_ _unnaturally_.

“Oh, sorry, I don't know my own strength.” Mon-El’s tone was far from apologetic and even farther from humble. Oliver refused to rise, however, and pulled his hand away from Mon-El’s painfully firm grip.

Kara looked between the two. This introduction was sooner and more passive-aggressive than expected. She suspected it had to do with Mon-El’s unannounced arrival.

“Yeah, why are you here?” Oliver restated, anticipating Kara's reaction to Mon-El’s answer.

“I was just going to...whatever, I'm going to the D.E.O—Winn’s go some training, some tests for my abilities,” Mon-El said. “He's been comparing my strength to Kara’s.”

 _Oh_ , _god_. _This_ _is_ _the_ _guy_ _who_ _likes_ _you_ , _Kara_? Oliver thought.

“We’ll—we’ll meet you there in a bit then. Just need to finish getting ready first, okay?” Kara said.

“...Okay.” Mon-El left.

“Sorry about that,” Kara said once she saw Mon-El drive away. “Must've been weird, some random guy knocking on the door before breakfast.”

“Oh, no. He came right in.” Oliver picked up the blender jar again and kept drinking. Kara sent him a look but didn't stop him.

“Did he?”

“You're okay with that?”

Kara sighed. “I kinda have to be, right?”

“Absolutely not. Even if he’s new to this planet’s decorum, there's nothing to keep you or anyone else from enforcing it. He needs to learn, not be cushioned.”  
  
Minutes later, the two were on their way to the D.E.O..

“I'm going to have to scout out your city tonight!” Oliver shouted over the rushing wind. He wasn't going to lie: he and Kara’s position was exceptionally awkward at that time—her arms wrapped tightly underneath his arms and her chest pressed against his back—especially when it came to communication; flying through the sky hundreds of feet above the city wasn't an optimal position for conversation. Oliver knew, however, that Kara could hear him anyways, what with her super hearing.

“Want me to give you the tour?!”

“No, thank you!” Oliver replied. Kara approached the balcony of the D.E.O. and dropped Oliver there moments before landing herself. Oliver rolled upon impact and continued what he was saying. “I'd prefer to map it out myself—find the dregs, the dictators, the perspective.”

“...Okay, couldn't I go with you? I know the city’s worst.”

Oliver couldn't help but doubt that she actually did. “I'm sorry, but you lack that perspective I'm trying to obtain; you have the,” Oliver gestured towards the sky, “bird’s eye view. Plus, Supergirl isn't likely to attract many criminals, if you know what I mean.”

“And the Arrow is?” Kara asked.

“I know how to wear a hood.”

“You mean you can blend in?”

Oliver chuckled. “I can blend in with the Russian Mob.” He looked out over National City again, remembering how he’d deemed himself obsolete in that realm. He now saw what Kara may overlook. Like he'd said, Kara saw only what was possible to her ‘bird’s eye view’: that which was flagrant. Kara could handle the most disastrous forms of invasion; Oliver could handle the more disguised evil.

J’onn ran up the stairs with his gun drawn, scowling. “Supergirl!”

“Oh! It's fine. He's a superhero from another universe. Oliver Queen.” Kara looked obviously guilty.

“You cannot bring strangers here!”

“You're right, but he's trustworthy, and he's not a stranger. He’s Barry Allen’s friend and he’s definitely no stranger to top secret operations.” Kara argued.

J’onn seemed to loosen up some, and it seemed more out of protocol that he suggested Oliver could be a spy.

“Look,” Oliver said. “I'm from a whole other universe. Not only would it be nonsensical to spy on an agency with no correlation to myself or my home, but I know absolutely no one here. I'm hardly a threat to identity or operation.”

“Alright,” J’onn said gruffly. “But you call in first in the future, Kara. People can't just walk in here.”

Kara nodded. “Well, fly.”

J’onn exhaled and quirked a smile. “I'm guessing you have a reason for bringing him.” He descended the stairs into the complex. Oliver and Kara followed.

Kara took a breath to answer, but cut herself off, thinking. She hadn't really brought him over for any reason other than to go fight crime together. She hadn't taken him out the morning because she figured he needed sleep—especially considering she’d had to wake him up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. She also trusted that if Oliver really felt the need for an I.V., he'd ask for one. She didn't want to put him on the spot.

“So what exactly goes on here?” Oliver asked. The question seemed to be directed towards J’onn.

“‘D.E.O.’ stands for ‘Department of Extranormal Operations’; we protect earth from extraterrestrial threats,” J'onn answered.

“But we’ve often found that it's actually the aliens that need our protection,” Kara added.

“I'm Hank Henshaw, by the way. Or J'onn J’onzz, recently outed Martian.” J’onn smirked. “Which do you prefer?”

 _Outed_. ‘Hank Henshaw’ was a cover. “Martian,” Oliver answered. “And I’m Oliver Queen, alternatively Earth-1 Starling City vigilante. Which do you prefer?”

“Oliver Queen. One can’t live forever behind an alias. That being?”

“Arrow,” Oliver answered, shuddering as the name ‘Al Sa-him’ came up yet again.

“Archer, then. You seen him shoot?” J’onn asked Kara.

“No, but from what Barry says, he’s excellent. Managed to hit the Flash himself a few times,” Kara said.

“You shot—” J’onn started.

“We were training,” Oliver said exasperatedly. “You were talking with Barry this morning,” he then muttered to Kara, who smiled smugly to confirm his suspicion.

“Well, feel free to tour the place, I guess,” J’onn said. “But,” he looked at Kara, “the more public places.”

 ++++++

John Corben lay idly on the cot of his prison cell, where he’d been for quite some time. He heard footsteps approaching--a guard. This prison guard hit his baton on one of the metal bars of the cell, creating a sound that would’ve roused another, but Corben remained unphased and bored.

“Mail call, Mr. Corben,” the guard said tiredly.

“Not interested,” Corben dismissed. There was nothing of importance that could be delivered through the prison’s security system. Cadmus was never so simple, nor so mundane. The guard dropped the package on the floor of the cell anyways, and once the man was out of sight, Corben slunk over to the envelope. He ripped it’s top of tiredly--missing the enhanced strength that Cadmus had given him--and the green glow of kryptonite illuminated his features. Corben grinned; along with the package, there was a message delivered that went unspoken.

++++++

“Shoot, I have to go!” Kara exclaimed after she finished showing him the area where her powers could be dampened for training. “I told Alex to meet me outside the courthouse at nine!”

“Courthouse?” Oliver jogged next to Kara as she hurried out of the corridor.

“Yeah, sorry. Whole new lump of chaos. I’ll explain later!” Kara zoomed away but was back in a matter of seconds, no longer in her Supergirl costume but wearing a pink shirt and brown blazer.

“Phwew,” Oliver breathed as the winds of Kara’s hustle hit him. “Alright. So, where do you want me?”

“Uhm...just...come with me?”

“Alright, but I’m just going to guess that I haven’t been admitted.”

“...No, right, you haven’t. You want to go back to my apartment, then?”

“I can occupy myself, don’t worry.”

 ++++++

“Mr. Corben, will you tell the court how you know Lillian Luthor?”

“She’s the doctor who saved my life,” Corben answered.

“By turning you into a weaponized cyborg?” Webb, the voice of the people and the lawyer testifying against Corben, questioned.

“Objection!” cried Lillian’s attorney. “Calls for speculation.”

“Objection is sustained,” said the judge.

“After Lillian Luthor saved you, did she order you to work for Cadmus?” Webb asked.

“She didn’t have to order me to do anything,” Corben said. “I believe aliens should be wiped from the earth.” Some members of the crowd watching started to murmur. “Starting with Supergirl and her cousin.”

“I hate him!” Alex hissed. She was sitting near the front with Kara.

“He literally has no heart,” Kara responded. Alex couldn’t tell if Kara was trying to make light of things or was just far too forgiving.

“And what, if anything, did Lillian Luthor tell you about the Medusa Project?” asked Webb.

“Earth is in crisis,” Corben said. “Aliens threaten our safety and way of life, bringing violence and disease. She wanted to save the human race!”

“That’s enough, thank you,” said the judge.

“It is not enough!” Corben shouted. “Lillian Luthor is not a criminal! She wanted to save you! Until Supergirl silenced her. This trial is a conspiracy to condemn the one person who wants to save your lives! Your children’s lives!”

The judge banged her gavel to quiet the clamoring crowd. “Settle down. We must have order in the courtroom.”

“Mr. Corben has become antagonistic and is clearly not willing to answer the questions as directed,” Webb said. “Permission to treat the witness as hostile, your honor.”

Corben rose. “Allow me to treat _you_ as hostile.” He rolled his shoulders before a jet of green light erupted from his chest.

 ++++++

“Woah!” Winn exclaimed when the televised trial went static due to the uproar in the courtroom. He, J’onn, Oliver, and a few other D.E.O. members had been watching the trial on a screen at the front of the room.

Oliver had suspected aggression from John Corben almost as the man started to breathe, if his body language hadn’t given it away even before then. Oliver just hadn’t expected that aggression to be quite so...pronounced. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t his Earth, and that conflict may have prominent divergence in manifestation.

“Pull up a map,” Oliver told Winn, who had been in awe of him after overhearing Kara talk about the Arrow’s abilities (Winn was one who understood just how difficult that feat would be). Winn complied, clicking away from the static screen in an instant. With a wave of nostalgia that quickly turned to a feeling of guilt and loss, Oliver was reminded of the times he'd been in this position with Felicity.

“They're here.” Winn pointed to the courthouse on the map.

“This was planned. They'll be heading northeast, away from the water.” Oliver said.

“Hey, how—how do you know that?” Winn asked.

“Your docks are patrolled and highly populated. They'd be cornering themselves. You have a bike?” Oliver said.

“Uh…” Winn tried to remember where the motorcycles were.

“Downstairs,” J’onn said.

Oliver was gone in an instant.

++++++

“I flew over the whole city twice, they're gone. Lillian and Metallo have disappeared,” Kara said as she stomped through the D.E.O.. “I should've stopped them.”

By now, most everyone had heard of the events that had taken place outside the courtroom: Metallo had shot a crane loose, and Supergirl could either have saved the people beneath it or taken Lillian in.

“What…” Alex started, but Kara started walking past her. She hurried to remain next to her. “Hey. You saved everyone. That was the right choice.”

Maggie, who was nearby, took a phone call.

“Look, we’re going to find Metallo and get him back in custody. I know, I know. It's just...I can't figure out where he got all that Kryptonite. Clark was supposed to have taken all of it,” Kara said. “Hey, where's Oliver?” she asked as she went through what resources she had that could possibly aid her.

“We...we think he's tracking down Lillian and Metallo, but we don't really have any means of communication,” Winn said from his position leaning against a console.

Maggie walked back over to the group, looking concerned—and perhaps even a little guilty—especially towards Kara.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, immediately hopping to her girlfriend’s side.

Maggie drew a breath. “I had the jail check all of Corben’s visitors to see how the Kryptonite may have gotten smuggled in, but he hasn't had any visitors since he's been there. They said when they swept the cell yesterday there was nothing out of the ordinary, which means he must've gotten the Kryptonite last night.”

“That seems to narrow down the window,” Alex said. “Why do you look so concerned?”

“Because there was only one visitor to the jail last night, but it was to visit Lillian Luthor,” Maggie said.

“Who?” Kara asked, growing increasingly concerned.

“Her daughter, Lena.”


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver raced after the black van he’d identified early on, although he was aware that a car chase was bound to end badly. He definitely didn't plan to face Metallo and whatever powers he may have head on, at least without backup, but he was quite sure that wouldn't be necessary. Oliver couldn't help but admire the motorcycle he was riding. It was jet black, had some nice features including multiple handguns and some sort of built-in tablet. It wasn't quite his own, which was back in Starling City—this one would be much harder to stand up on or make low turns, but that may have been because it was so unfamiliar.

Oliver had yet to reveal himself to the occupants of the van. He knew they weren't aware of him; if they were, they'd probably have stopped to take him out. He'd appear to be more of a pest than a threat, but a pest that must be exterminated nonetheless. He veered of the dusty road—by now, he was riding through a sparse desert, the ground cracked and the bushes prickly and light—seeing the speck of a van turn in the distance. As he was on a motorcycle, he could cross terrain that the van couldn't.

The ground beneath him caused the bike to shake, vibrating his hands and the bow he held in one of them. He'd stopped by Kara’s on his way out—scaling her wall rather than using the elevator, for which he had no patience—and grabbed his bow and an arrow from the bag Barry had brought over from Central City. A tracking arrow. Oliver was one to plan ahead.

About 40 yards from the side of the road where the van was bound to pass by, Oliver stopped and laid the motorcycle down on its side, leaving it somewhat hidden behind a ridge of rock where he crouched down, nocking his bow with the tracking arrow. He held the bow sideways to minimize his visibility from the road. If they saw him, so what? They wouldn't see the arrow coming.

The van came in range. Oliver squinted, tilting his head to side so that the movement of the van wouldn't interfere with his horizontal aim. The driver came into view, and Oliver had half a mind to shoot him in the head. Hell, he had half a mind to hop back on his bike, race over to the van, and take out everyone inside—no.

Tracker. _Tracker_ , he reminded himself. There was a reason he'd distanced himself from the van.

He shot haphazardly—or as haphazardly as an archer with nearly impeccable aim could—at the van as soon as the driver’s line of sight was past the arrow’s trajectory. Seeing—almost _feeling_ —the arrow meet it’s mark, Oliver slung his bow over his shoulder and mourned the loss of the one tracking arrow he’d brought in his travel bag.

++++++

“Hey, Winn. _Winn_ ,” Oliver said, trying to grab the I.T. guy’s attention away from Mon-El, with whom he was arguing about a superhero costume. _Because Mon-El’s here now. Greeaaat._

“Umm, yeah?” Winn swiveled away from Mon-El and Oliver tossed him the thumb-drive-esque piece of technology that corresponded with the tracking arrow. Winn fumbled with it but eventually caught it. “Oooh. This is nice. What...is it?”

“It'll tell you Luthor and Corben’s location.”

Winn raised his eyebrows, but a ghost of a smile was in his features. “How’d you get this?”

“I found their escape vehicle. It wasn't stolen, so they'll continue its usage. I hit it with a tracking arrow,” Oliver said. J’onn, who had walked closer when Oliver arrived, smirked approvingly.

“Can we keep him?” Winn said sideways to J’onn.

“If you found the vehicle, why didn't you bring them in?” Mon-El demanded.

“Well, _I_ can comprehend the advantage of not only escaping alive and unimpaired along with more information of the enemy than they have of us,” Oliver said.

“Yeah? Maybe things in this universe work differently. Maybe here we’re expected to show a little more nerve!” Mon-El said, stepping right up to Oliver and backing away a little when he found Oliver was slightly taller.

“I can definitely say that things in this universe work differently,” Oliver said flatly. “Idiots and douchebags in this realm are given dispensation for their insolence.”

Alex, who was leaning against a far wall, suppressed what she was surprised to find may have been a cackle. Alex had, at first, repeatedly given Mon-El the benefit of the doubt for his behavior. He was new to the planet, after all, and Alex, more than most, understood the importance of tolerance and a bit of sway for those people. It soon became evident, however, that Mon-El was simply not apt to change. His presence was detrimental to Kara and her freedom. Alex suspected that only because she was so kind did Kara put up with him.

“Okaaay. Okay, let's just...dial it back a bit. Dial it back,” Winn interjected as the two men standing above him glared at each other. Oliver and Mon-El separated, Mon-El stomping down a hallway and Oliver migrating closer to the wall where Alex was.  
Alex had not yet been introduced to Oliver, and seeing that Kara wasn't around, decided to introduce herself. She hopped over to him.

“Hey, I'm Alex,” she said, extending her hand, which Oliver took. “Kara’s sister.”

“So...alien?”

Alex laughed. “Ah, no. Adoptive.”

“Nothing’s wrong with being human. Oliver Queen,” Oliver said. “I'm staying in the area with Kara. Figured while I'm here I can, you know, help out.”

Alex looked over to where Winn was eagerly going at the tracking equipment Oliver had provided. “Seems like you're doing an awful lot more than just ‘helping out,’” she commented.

“Well, I've been cooped up for a while. Energy needs to go somewhere.”

“Yeah, to a lower concentration. Seems like we need you.”

“Nah.” Oliver shook his head. “You've got real superheroes.”

“Hey, nothing’s wrong with being human,” Alex quoted at Oliver, making him smile. Maggie approached. “This is my girlfriend, Maggie. She's a detective, so don't get on her bad side.”

Oliver was reminded of Detective Lance, and figured it was likely he _would_ get on her bad side. He shook her hand.

“A secret agent and a detective. Quite the power couple,” Oliver said.

“You have no idea,” J’onn said as he passed.

“Hey, Arrow!” Winn called.

Oliver hurried over. “Oliver’s fine, you know.”

“Yeah, but I like Arrow. This tracking technology isn't quite compatible with the D.E.O.’s mainframe. Probably because it comes from a different universe. It may take me a bit to adapt it,” Winn said.

“I think that’ll be fine,” Oliver said. “Their escape was situational. Their plan, if one does indeed exist, will most likely not extend much past their getaway and the immediate reason for that escape.”

“Wasn't their plan just to get away?”

“No. There were far more remote routes they could've taken. They had a destination in mind. Where’s Kara? She could get right out there near their last known location.”

“Right here!” Kara said, dropping to the ground seemingly out of nowhere. She’d heard her name with her super hearing, a lot like how she'd been tuned in to the word ‘dessert’ when she was younger. “Where am I going?”

Oliver told Kara where he’d found the van and she rocketed off in a split second, leaving a vacuum in her wake where air had been.

“She’s damn fast. My frie...nd John would probably be vomiting right about now. Or having a seizure,” Oliver said.

“Yeah, we think she may actually be faster than the Flash,” Alex said. “They keep racing.”

“What is it with all of these comparisons to the Flash? Is he the pinnacle of all heroes or something?” J’onn said. It seemed no conversation went unheard by him within the D.E.O..

Oliver chuckled. “No. Speed is just easier to measure than skill, strength, or power of mind.”

“Well, you've already started to prove your power of mind, Queen. As for skill, you seem to possess quite the aptitude for aim. How are you in other areas?”

“In combat?” Oliver asked. J’onn nodded. “Well...hand to hand, sword, staff, baston, throwing knives…”

“Quite the skill set.”

Oliver shrugged. “It comes up.”

“Hey, you spar?” Alex asked.

“Yes, please,” Oliver said. “Sorry. Yes, I spar.”

Alex lead Oliver back to the sparring room Kara had shown him earlier.

++++++

The invulnerability attributed to her powers prevented Kara from feeling the wind biting her face or the desert dust she suspected was getting quite close to her eyes. Where it went rather than colliding with her body, Kara would never know.  
She'd been scouring the ground for a while, and was somewhat frustrated that she had to slow down in order to see, probably leaving her further behind the van than she ought to be.

_What am I doing?_ Kara thought to herself, glancing back in the direction she came from. Maybe she was going after the wrong Luthor. Maybe she was prioritizing one Luthor’s justice over the other. Lillian Luthor and Metallo definitely needed to be brought to justice, but back home, Lena was having her name tarnished. Sensing imminent futility in her efforts in that day, Kara decided to face a more immediate struggle. With a final sweep of the area, she flew back to National City.

++++++

After making an appointment to see Lena (assuming she wasn't arrested by the allotted time), helping a couple get their car going, and grabbing a coffee at Noonan’s, Kara flew back to the D.E.O..

“Still no sign of them,” Kara announced, although there was hardly anyone in the main room. J’onn approached.

“I wouldn't worry. Agent Schott will have that tracker set up in no time,” J’onn said.

“Then we should be focusing on the Kryptonite,” Kara said.

J’onn sighed. “Right now, we’re working off of the assumption that Lena is our perpetrator.”

“What happened to innocent until proven guilty?!” Kara demanded.

“She hasn't been convicted nor processed, much less publicly allegated.”

Kara supposed she’d have to be satisfied with that for now. She nodded her head acceptingly.

“I know she's your friend, but she’s also our prime suspect,” J’onn said gently. “I'm not going to presume her morals based on her family name, I'm going to presume her guilt based on the circumstances. I'm sorry.”

Alex came running into the room, hair disheveled and breath ragged. “Kara,” she panted, “you have to get in on this.”

“Get in on what…” Alex grasped at Kara’s hand and lead her down the corridor to the sparring room. Kara had just the time to envision another chugging contest between Winn and Mon-El before she entered.

It took Kara a moment to register what she saw: over a dozen agents lined the walls of the room, some drinking water and others slumped on the floor. On the platform was perhaps more combatants than Kara had ever seen there at a time. They all seemed to concenter around a single black-clad form, who was whipping about and taking out all those around him. A few seconds told her that this person was Oliver, who seemed to have adopted the D.E.O.’s uniform.

“Your friend’s a real fighter,” Alex said. “Where’d he come from?”

“Straight from the fire,” Kara said, watching proudly as Oliver flipped two agents simultaneously. He kicked another off the platform. Kara winced while many surrounding agents (including Alex) cheered.

Winn shouted. “Yeah Arrow man!”

“Winn, shouldn't you be working on the tracking signal?”

“I’m waiting for the software to sync. Trust me, I know where I should be,” Winn said. He stood near the door frame, where the crowd was less concentrated and the view was better. The moves Oliver pulled rivaled those in Winn’s comic books and action movies. While the man didn't have ‘powers’ like J’onn, Mon-El or Kara, he had abilities that could be considered super-human.

Having cleared the platform yet again, Oliver exhaled almost bellicosely. Several more agents stepped up, Alex one of them.

“Wait, Alex—” Kara started, but her sister was already engaged. It was patent, by this time, how dangerous sparring with Oliver was, but it also seemed to bring the sort of thrill that usually only came on the field—both for the agents and for Oliver. It had been some time since the Arrow had seen any battle. He was obviously enjoying himself, and he somehow managed to make throwing people around look graceful and almost dignified.

While a male agent slightly taller than Oliver occupied him for a moment, Alex came up from behind with a sweep kick. Oliver managed to deflect this kick—interlocking her leg with his and spinning around so her low position sent her straight to the floor. Her cheek collided with the platform, and Kara was surprised to see her smiling. Apparently there was no shame whatsoever in being bested by someone so obviously adroit as Oliver.

“Hey, where’s Mon-El?” Kara asked Winn.

“I don’t know. He left like five minutes ago,” Winn said, wincing as Oliver landed a powerful looking kick. Kara looked around, suddenly worried about what injuries these agents may have obtained, but Oliver’s opponents seemed only to sport bruises or small cuts. Kara had a newfound appreciation for how Oliver could beat so many people without maiming any and a newfound concern for how lethal he could be.

Seeing that Oliver was again the only fighter left on the platform, Kara hopped up. All the heads in the room were turned. If she was honest, Kara had been expecting at least a second of hesitation from Oliver, but it seemed anyone who set foot nearby was immediately his opponent. He came right at Kara, which surprised her. Usually only criminals she fought had so little regard for what she was capable of, but she soon became aware that it wasn't disregard that sent him towards her, rather desire for a challenge. He was obviously cautious around her, avoiding her strikes, which she was trying to make light anyways. He was lithe, light-footed and adept, but was still no match for Kara’s strength. Kara knew that Oliver knew this, and that it was one of the reasons he was enjoying himself so much.

Kara caught Oliver’s arm as he made to elbow her, and his other arm when he struggled to get free. She held him for a moment—long enough to see him grin at her—and let him go when he did a flip to twist himself free. Oliver bent over and Kara assumed he was recovering; she was caught off guard when Oliver spun around and aimed a kick for her head. Kara caught this strike as well—aware that his foot had indeed collided with her cheekbone—and held Oliver upside down by his ankle.

The room laughed and so did Oliver, who reflexively put his arms on the ground in case he was dropped. Kara giggled and let go of his foot, leaving him in a handstand position; the room cheered yet again. Oliver pushed himself up in the air and landed on his feet, impressing the crowd with his upper body strength.

“Well,” Oliver said, grabbing Kara’s hand and raising it into the air. “Here's for our champion!” The agents in the room clapped and cheered as Kara and Oliver hopped down from the platform, Winn throwing Oliver a water bottle which he eagerly opened. Two female agents climbed back onto the platform to spar, and the rest of the room started to talk or file out of the room (which was beginning to smell like a high school locker room).

“I heard you were good, but...wow,” Kara said as she, Oliver, and Alex walked back to the center of the complex. “Did J'onn see you? He’ll be _begging_ to get you out in the field.”

Oliver laughed. “I'm not exactly going to argue against that. It’s been awhile since I've gotten out. And might I just say,” he turned to Alex, “that you guys are all amazing sparring partners.”

“Thanks,” Alex said. “That was fun.”

“It was,” Oliver agreed.

“Hey, hey, Mon-El!” Kara called across the room upon spotting the Daxamite. Alex tried not to groan while Oliver inhaled as if to brace for impact. Mon-El ambled over frustratingly slowly, so the group had to move closer in order to meet with him. Alex and Oliver lagged behind. “Hey, you see Oliver spar? Maybe you and I could train with him sometime.”

“Um, yeah. I mean, I don't want to train with him, but he’s good at sparring...for a human,” Mon-El said, leering. Alex audibly scoffed. 

“And you're insecure for someone with so much impunity,” Oliver said, tilting his head slightly. “If you're so confident in your own species’s superiority, why avoid even an _offer_ of combat?”

“Can't take the chagrin,” Alex answered for him, pulling Oliver away and leading him up the stairs to where she often worked.  
Kara looked from Mon-El to the receding group and back again, eventually deciding to follow after them.

“Okay, what was that?!” she said as she caught up.

“Expedient,” Alex answered, entering the medbay and procuring an ice pack which she applied to her face. “Mon-El has been trying at Oliver all day.”

Kara frowned. “I know Mon-El can come off as a little thoughtless, but I don't think he'd willfully ‘try after’ anyone who’s on his same side.”

“No, Kara, seriously. Mon-El followed him around the whole time you were gone, and every feat Oliver has achieved—be it intellectual or physical—Mon-El has attempted to use as a subject for derision. Sure, in his attempts to make Oliver seem insignificant he only makes himself look ridiculous and immature, but his constant presence and remarks are obnoxious to say the least.”

“I—I'll talk to him, but you two need to understand that he’s still learning,” Kara said.

“Is he, though?” Alex said.

“Maybe he needs to be taught,” Oliver suggested. If Kara continued to allow Mon-El to behave however he pleased, he was sure to walk all over her if their relationship continued.

Kara found herself surprised as she found herself on Alex and Oliver’s side rather than Mon-El’s. She’d come to realize that Mon-El really didn't seem to be learning, and no one was helping him to start.  
  
++++++

“No, it's more often dealt in favors,” Oliver explained. In trying to find useful occupation within the D.E.O., he'd landed upon telling J’onn about mob dynamics. J’onn seemed to think this such an interesting topic that he called in order to continue the conversation.

“ _And if you disagree with the morals of the favor asked?”_ J’onn questioned.

“Usually threats,” Oliver said. “Against one’s family or finance.”

“ _What happened to anonymity?”_

“With a vengeful mind, nothing’s anonymous.”

“ _Alright. This has been thoroughly instructive.”_

“Call me for further questions if necessary. I'll be at Kara’s.”

“ _Thank you._ ” J’onn hung up and Oliver set his phone down on a table.

“So, you ready to go?” Kara asked Oliver. The sky had finally reached the point where it could be considered ‘dark.’ Oliver had held onto his intention to tour the city, but Kara had insisted he go earlier than he had initially planned so he had enough sleep for the next day.

Because he didn't have his Arrow suit, Oliver decided to wear a green hoodie, his black cargo pants, and the grease paint he’d worn in his first couple years returned to Starling City.

“Yes,” Oliver said. He picked up his bow and quiver.

“Hey, what do you need that for?” Kara asked.

“Establishment, I guess.” Oliver jumped from Kara's window and into the shadows. Kara looked over the window sill, worried, but had enough trust in Oliver’s judgement to believe him unharmed. Her visit to Lena was in half an hour, so she busied herself getting ready.

++++++

Besides small drug deals and gang activity, National City’s crime was at a low. This left Oliver eager to hone in on criminals with more power—the only problem in his way of obtaining that was his being dressed as a hoodlum. There was, however, the matter of Lena Luthor, a fixed suspect of the D.E.O., and someone for whom Kara had argued innocence. _Time to play judge and jury, I guess._

L-Corp was easy to locate and even easier to infiltrate, although his expertise did give him an unfair advantage. The C.E.O.’s office was predictably on the top floor. Easily slipping past the secretary, Oliver knocked out the lights and entered. Lena, who had stood up in alarm at the sudden loss of power, couldn't see Oliver until he stepped within range of the lights outside.  
“Lena Luthor,” he said. Lena leaped back upon seeing his weapon. “You have failed this city.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really had a difficult time trying to figure out how Kara would express her anger, but I feel like a mention of Lena would make her think more of love than rage...

“Did you or did you not aid in Lillian Luthor’s escape?!”

“I did not!” Lena shouted.

Hmm. She didn't answer too quickly, and her voice hadn't wavered. Lena reached towards her phone; Oliver shot an arrow and severed the cord. Lena pulled her hand back and looked up at Oliver so he could see her features.

She looked terrified, to be sure, but there was a steely defiance in her features that actually quite reminded him of Felicity. Her face didn't fall as if he'd caught he her the middle of something or called her out on an atrocity she knew she'd committed—

She was innocent.

Innocent, but informed.

“You visited Lillian Luthor last night. Why?”

“To sever ties, find closure! I'm no Luthor.”

“No,” Oliver sighed and lowered his bow. “Did you see anything, hear anything, last night at the prison?! What did Luthor tell you?!”

 _Luthor_. There was something to revel in, Lena thought, upon hearing her attacker speak of a Luthor to her without having her as the subject. She’d said she wasn't a Luthor...and this freaky man, whoever he was, had instantly believed her. He had come there to judge her, but his judgement wasn't hindered by bias.

“I heard nothing. My stepmother tried to get me to join her, give her another chance!”

“Did you?!” Oliver raised his bow yet again, stepping closer.

“Only partially! I gave her a second chance at being my mother, not my ally!”

All of a sudden, the door burst open. Flashlights and guns were pointed, Maggie Sawyer leading a group of four police officers. _So much for staying on her good side_.

“Lower your weapon or we will shoot,” Maggie said, approaching Oliver from the back. Oliver replaced the arrow in his quiver, putting his hands up while still holding his bow. He started turning around, as if to comply. One officer took a step forward as if to arrest Oliver or something ridiculous like that, and Oliver whipped around and ran towards the window, crashing through and firing an arrow attached to a cord into the adjacent office building. From there he swung, sensing the policewomen and men run towards the window. He smirked to himself. _They may need to get used to this_.

Once he was well hidden atop the building, he looked back towards Lena’s office in L-Corp. It was difficult to make out due to the loss of light he had brought about, but Oliver knew she was getting arrested. Wrongfully. He _would_ bring her justice.

Oliver perched up there for some time, watching the police drive away with Lena. He knew they'd found new evidence, otherwise they wouldn't have come that time of night, especially after having held out for so long. He wondered how long it would take for the press to get a hold of this, and if it came to Kara’s outlet, how she would respond.

“Hey!”

A new voice. Not police. Disguised. _Vigilante_.

Oliver turned around, intuitively drawing an arrow and knocking it. “James,” he inferred.

“Guardian! Who are you?!” Guardian demanded.

“Like you. A friendly,” Oliver said.

“You're running from the police!”

Sure, that probably didn't look great, Oliver supposed, but was sort of offended that Guardian would think that so little an armada of two police cars was enough to challenge him. Also, this guy clearly wasn't too experienced—police chasing a vigilante to the top floor of L-Corp. Seriously.

“What, you've never had your differences with the police?” Oliver asked, almost laughing.

“I'm on the right side of the law!”

“I'm on the lenient side of the law.”

Guardian charged.

 _Shit_. Here's for first impressions. Oliver dropped his bow and arrow and waited for a moment for Guardian to reach him so that he wouldn't come off as aggressive, but that judgement may have already been passed. The other vigilante had a nice shield, but naturally Oliver had encountered police shields and new how to get around them…

...Guardian was down in seconds.

“I am not your enemy!” the man in the green hood bellowed. Yeah, that’s kinda hard to believe, James thought, struggling to think of anything other than gaining air as his had been knocked out with his collision to the ground. The man held out a hand as if to help him up. “I’m Kara’s new friend!”

 _Kara? How does he know who she is?! How does he know who I am?!_ James had thought he had access to the handgun strapped to his leg, but when he felt for it he discovered that this new guy seemed to have disarmed him. His shield lay on the ground some feet away—just beyond his reach. Something told James that it would be bad form to try and attack anyway.

“ _Take his hand!_ ” Winn urged through the comm.

“What? No! I'm not going to ‘take his hand’” James mumbled back, praying the hood guy couldn't hear, but knowing he probably did. Guy seemed patient, though.

“ _No, do it! He’s not lying! Kara knows him! I know him!"_

James reluctantly let Oliver help him up.

“ _Hey, Arrow!_ ” Winn shouted through the comm, projecting it through the suit so Oliver could hear.

Oliver chuckled. _He called me ‘Arrow.' Must be Winn_. “Hey, Winn.”

It was strange for James not to be able to look awkwardly between two people, as the moment likely required. He settled for looking somewhere on the ground. “Okay, how is it you know each other?”

“ _Met him yesterday. Kara’s surprise ‘plus one.’_ ”

++++++  
  
Upon hearing sirens, Kara had changed and became Supergirl. She'd been on her way to Lena’s office, but police nearby couldn't have been a coincidence. Using her X-Ray vision, she saw that Lena was in the backseat of one of the cars.

 _Okay, what can I do as Supergirl?_ Kara thought. Pick up the car? Land in the middle of the road and demand answers? Supergirl was often the voice of reason, but she doubted she had any grounds to waver an arrest warrant, wherever they had got it—what evidence did they even have?! Kara whipped out her phone and dialed Maggie, who answered almost instantly.

“ _Stay out of this, Kara_ ,” the testy detective said, hanging up immediately afterward; she really didn't have time for Kara’s trifling. Kara gasped. _Rude!_ She knew better than to call again, though. She was just about to turn and follow the police car to get an answer from Maggie when she saw the top window of L-Corp. It was shattered, leaving a gaping hole with sharp edges that resembled stalagmites, stalactites, and everything in between. It looked like a crime scene, and Kara had no doubt that that was what it was one.

She landed inside Lena's office and scanned the area, looking for some indication of what had actually happened.

She found an arrow.  
  
++++++

“So...in you and the Flash’s universe, you're a vigilante,” James concluded.

“ _Yeah. Arrow. Total badass,_ ” Winn added.

“But you don’t go around in... _that_ , right?” James gestured to the hoodie and cargo pants, which looked very unprofessional.

“No, I had a suit.”

“ _So, that would mean you need a new one.”_ Winn’s growing excitement was recognizable even through the comm.

“Yeah, I suppose,” Oliver said.

“I'll turn this off,” James said, reaching for the side of his neck, “before he starts squealing.”

“ _Hey, I—_ ”

“So, he's your tech—” swoosh. Before Oliver could finish, he was swept into the air, Kara picking him from the ground like a great bird of prey. She rocketed into the sky, pulling Oliver by the hood of his sweater.  
  
“ _What did you do to her?!”_ Kara practically roared, freezing in the air hundreds of feet above the ground. “You do not _touch_ Lena Luthor!”

The shock of being grabbed so quickly had not worn off, and reeling from the sudden change in altitude, Oliver was lost for words.

“What did you _do?!_ ”

Oliver gasped for the thinning air. “I questioned her!”

“You were _armed_!” Kara held out the arrow she had found.

“By coercion, then! She was in no danger,” Oliver panted. “Unless she gave me the wrong answer.”

“And did she?!” Kara shouted despite already knowing the answer.

“She's innocent! Oliver yelled, finally finding his voice. He yawned to crack his ears. “And she needs our help.”

Kara’s expression softened.

++++++

“Did you _really_ learn anything that I couldn't have found out from a conversation as a friend? I feel anyone would have more compulsion to lie under duress,” Kara continued, her rant traveling all the way back to her apartment.

Oliver bent over the kitchen sink and washed the grease paint off of his face. “And they consistently do. It wasn't her words that gave me answers, it was her reactions to mine.”

“And your arrowpoint, I'd assume,” Kara groaned. She sped away and arrived a second later in her pajamas.

“Yeah, I suppose. My actions, too.”

Kara sighed, grabbing a pillow from her couch and started squeezing it absentmindedly. At least he knew Lena was innocent, but she must've been so terrified! How was Kara supposed to visit her and help her through whatever she was feeling? She couldn't even explain Oliver’s actions without condemning him.

“Couldn't you have just trusted my judgement?”

“No. For the same reason I couldn't trust the inference of an entire government agency: I pass judgement on my own. No bias, no concealed lies, and no,” Oliver paused, “emotion.”

Kara stood back up, aggressively throwing the pillow back onto the couch. “And what's that supposed to mean?! No mercy?!”

To Kara’s surprise, Oliver smiled. “I think I know who you meant,” he said, “when you mentioned you had feelings for someone else.”

Kara’s face reddened and she stared into the distance for a moment before bursting out in a fit of giggles and tossing the pillow she was holding at Oliver, who dodged it. “Perceptive one, you are,” she just barely said through her embarrassed laughter.

“Kara. Hey, Kara!” Oliver said, drawing her attention. “I think that you should maybe act on this, once she's vindicated. You're obviously…” Oliver thought back to her rather forceful confrontation minutes before. “Passionate.”

Kara started giggling all over again. “Yeah, sorry about that...” Her face hardened for a moment. “But Lena Luthor...is off limits.”

Oliver put his hands up. “Yeah,” he said, somehow sounding both playful and serious at the same time. “Yes, I understand.”

“But how _do_ we vindicate her? I mean, she's innocent, but how do we prove that?” Kara questioned.

The questions may have been rhetorical, but Oliver answered anyway. “We figure out what evidence they have, find its source, and take out the people responsible.”

“...Okay, but how does that help Lena if the damage has already been done?”

“Well, we incriminate the people responsible first, but that shouldn't be hard...seeing as they'd be guilty. I'm assuming it's Lillian Luthor we’re going after?”

“Yeah, and the rest of Cadmus. I can't believe she’d frame her own daughter.”

“It makes sense, actually. If Lena has no name, no life left, her best choice would be to join Cadmus and at least have a chance to be free,” Oliver explained.

“You're sounding an awful lot like a criminal,” Kara said.

“I told you: I can blend in. You can't deny it’s useful.”

“No, but breaking into someone’s office and threatening them? That's—”

“Actually, it's effective,” Oliver said. “Look, when you're only human like me, you need to devise other methods to achieve your ends. You evolve.”

“To scare innocent people.”

“They're rarely innocent. And I don't target...people. I target their deeds. I went after my own mother once, and she was guilty of being compliant in a plan that killed hundreds.” He looked off, reminiscing. “She shot me. That's how Felicity got involved in my crusade…”

Was it right, Kara wondered, to talk to him about the dead mother she wasn't supposed to know about? _Not yet_ , she decided. _Not now._ She tried to push past the fact that he mentioned hundreds dying and chuckled at the last thing he said. “So, it was worth it?”

“Oh, a thousand times. Felicity is...she's the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and it's...terrifying that I won't...I haven't...I need her.”

“Well, why don't you call her?”

“I could,” Oliver said. “But not...yet.”

This was the kind of thing that confused Kara; she didn't know when or when not to push. She'd made a suggestion, which Oliver took, but was postponing it—she could either accept his answer and move on or ask his reason, accept them or not, and move on. His was the kind of mind that wouldn't be swayed.

“Can you—can you tell me why?” Kara asked quietly. Oliver looked at her. No.

Kara didn't say “alright.” She didn't say “I understand”; she didn't understand, and she could tell he wasn't alright. “Did you eat today?” she settled on.

Oliver sighed. “Does the protein smoothie count?”

“For now.”

“This morning, then. And as you know I finished it when we got home from the D.E.O..”

Kara, who had taken it upon herself to get him eating, wasn't quite satisfied. “And nothing during the day? You must've been exercising for over four hours!”

“Kara, what part of ‘I can't make myself eat’ do you not understand?!”

“No, I do understand what you're saying: your subconscious tells you that if you eat food, you will see terrible things. I understand that that will be hard to overcome! I'm just trying to help you overcome it.”

“Sorry,” Oliver mumbled.

“No, it's okay; I know you're frustrated, but you've got to work with me here. Were you offered food at the D.E.O.?”

“Yeah, plenty.”

“Do you think it would help if I told J’onn about your, um...condition?” Oliver sighed again. “I won't, then.” Kara looked at the clock on the table next to her couch. “It's getting kind of late, and we need sleep to catch Lillian and Metallo tomorrow.”

“So, we’re going back to the D.E.O. in the morning?”

“Well, we’ll check in with Winn to see if he has that tracking technology up and running yet.”

“Alright. And?”

“Well, I need to go to work. I think I'll bring you along, actually.”

“Sounds good.”

Kara had put away the two air mattresses after she and Oliver had decided that Oliver would be sleeping in the couch instead.

She still worried, though, about Oliver’s sleeping habits. She didn't know if he didn't seem to want to sleep because he thought it was unnecessary, and he could live off of protein smoothies, or because of whatever kind of nightmares he'd been having the night before and likely long before that. She waited until they both were ready for bed before confronting him about it.

“Hey, so Oliver?” Kara asked hesitantly. Oliver was lying down on the couch and reading something by the light of a lamp on the side table.

“Mm hmm?”

“Just...tonight, if you—if you...need...anything, um…”

“Kara, is something wrong?” Oliver asked, sensing Kara’s distress and closing his book.

“Um...well...last night, I know you had...I...you were shouting.”

Even in the dim light, Kara could see the color and expression leave from Oliver’s face. He didn't respond.

“Oliver?”

Oliver turned on the couch so that his back was facing Kara. “Sorry for waking you up.”

“Seriously, don't worry about that. I just—I woke you up. You seemed pretty…” scared “...worried. I know you don't remember that, but I do still want to help you. If there is anything at all I can do to help—”

“There isn't,” Oliver practically whispered. He thought he might die of humiliation. People seeing his physical scars was one thing—they were often unavoidable—but his mental ones...they just proved he couldn't take certain things, even though he had. They seemed to make his experiences, his strength, seem obsolete...and he thought himself selfish for thinking it.

The night before he had shown Kara his weakness, and had no qualms about it. He hadn't really expected to get...invested in Kara’s universe and his friendship with her, because it was a friendship, and somehow it had grown quite a lot within the confines of just over twenty-four hours. Now, he had potential to destroy her good opinion of him because of the relationship that had already been formed; she may now be disgusted by him if he told her something that would permit that, and he would feel the repercussions. However different he and Kara may have been, he valued their friendship because it was something new and reliable. He didn't want to ruin that.

Kara didn't know what to say. She didn't know exactly what she could do for him, but she did want him to accept her support.

“I'm here for you, that's all.” She turned to leave but Oliver stopped her.

“Thank you.”

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MEGA TRIGGER WARNING! Descriptions of violence/torture, nightmares, and panic attacks. Seriously beware.

_...Oliver watched as the sword was drawn yet again, but this time from his abdomen. All he could do was scream; close his eyes; hold onto his name. Only the most acute form of morbidity would allow him to wonder how painful it would be to be stabbed in the various places he had yet to feel. No one else would know; no one else would live._

_He sharply inhaled heavily incensed air, knowing exactly what was coming—_

_—The stinging water filled his lungs, something hot on his back forcing his mouth open to cry out. The stiff hand on the back of his neck held him submerged for far too long; the water replenished his blood but all he could feel was lack of oxygen and shame for what he'd done and had yet to do—_

_“Oliver Queen has been purged. You are Al Sa-him.”_

_…He brought down his sword for the last time and watched as Ra’s reviewed his work._

_“You understand there can be no hesitation. I'll leave you to say your goodbyes.” Ra’s stalked away, dragging the tip of Oliver’s bloodied sword on the ground._

_Oliver sank to his knees. Around him lay Diggle, Laurel, Tommy, Lyla, baby Sara, Lena Luthor..._ Thea _: the single death only Ra’s was responsible for. His whole body shook as he grieved the loss he'd inflicted. His tremulous hand grabbed Thea’s stone cold one, which he kissed, his tears leaving streaks in the blood that coated both their hands._

_He heard footsteps approaching and tensed, expecting Ra’s. He turned around, but saw none other than Felicity Smoak. Oliver sobbed. He reached towards her, approaching all the warmth and comfort she could offer, but he couldn't touch her. He looked up into her eyes and saw only hatred. She uttered one word: “monster.”_

_This repeated again and again: Pain. Purge. Shame. Monster. Pain. Purge. Shame. Monster._

_Repeat._

_Repeat_.

 _Repeat_.

 

“Oliver.”

“Monster.”

“No, Oliver!” Kara tried first to shake Oliver awake gently, but he simply squirmed away from her touch. By now he'd fallen off of the couch and was tangled in the blanket he was borrowing. He was grasping at the pillows with such a force Kara was glad she'd purchased them to withstand her Kryptonian kneading.

Oliver let out a blood-curdling scream. That was it. Kara grabbed his shoulder and the back of his neck to steady him and shook him with superhuman force.

Oliver gasped awake as if he had been choking and suddenly Kara was aware his hand on her neck. Despite barely being able to feel it, she knew how hard he was trying to keep her away. He had a wild look in his eyes and every muscle in his body was tensed. Kara kept her hand firmly on his shoulder but let him keep his stiff arm up until it relaxed.

“Oliver, you're not where you think you are,” she said gently. Oliver kept looking frantically from side to side and he sat up against the couch. “Oliver, hey, look at me. Look at me.” She guided his chin up so he could look her in the eye as she knelt down next to him.

Finally, he did, but in the movement his terrified face neutralized to an expressionless stare. “Oliver Queen is dead. I am Al Sa-Him.” He made a move to strike Kara but she caught his hand as she had earlier in sparring.

“No. Your name,” Kara said, “is Oliver Queen.”

Something that could've been a sob hitched in Oliver's throat and emotion returned to his face. He hung his head. “I'm sorry.”

“Oliver.” She kept using his name so he wouldn't forget it. “You didn't hurt me. You didn't hurt anyone.”

_But the bodies that lay around him, how he'd spilled their blood as they begged him to remember—_

“No, I did! I—” Oliver could hardly see the room around him. The dark prevented him from seeing much of the room so his mind replaced it with the most logical alternative. He was drowning, not in water but in remorse… and he couldn't breathe.  
The quick-paced and shallow rise and fall of Oliver's chest told Kara that he must've been hyperventilating.

“Here, Oliver. Breathe into the pillow. Deep breaths.” Kara out the couch pillow into Oliver’s hands and he put it between his face and his knees, trying to breathe deeply as Kara had instructed but only really succeeding in sobbing dryly. “Deep breaths. In…” Oliver breathed in. It took awhile to fill his lungs through the pillow, but the steady flow was reassuring, “...out.”

Eventually, Oliver's erratic breathing steadied. He looked up, vision still blurred, and Kara reached up and turned the lamp by the couch on. She was so close, so warm, and so calm. Oliver wanted badly to reach out for the physical comfort that he was almost certain Kara could provide, but he didn't. He couldn't. He didn't have that. He buried his face again in the pillow as if to hide himself and the emotion he had on his face.

“Do you think you can get back to sleep?”

“No, but I don't think I'm used to even this much sleep anyways. You aliens need to sleep?” Oliver said. He didn't want to move, so his voice was muffled somewhat.

“Not as much as humans.”

“So much for waking up ready to go after Lillian Luthor.”

“Oh...we were never going to be ready, really.” Kara went and turned on the lights above the kitchen island. “You want to tell me about it? Your dream?”

Oliver hesitated. “Isn't it kind of strange,” he said, “how we don't really know anything about each other except the most personal issues?”

“Well, yes, it's strange, but it's better to start out like this than to have all these secrets. I'm hoping you'll take the time to get to know the lighter side of me, though.”

“Of course I will.” But he wasn't sure if he had a lighter side to even speak of.

“Thank you.” Kara smiled. “Right, so...dream?” There was something about the word ‘nightmare’ that Kara didn't even want to bring to the table.

“So it—so it starts out with Ra’s hurting me, always.”

“Um...torturing...you?”

“Well, gently.” Maybe he shouldn't bring up all of his other instances of torture, considering he had enough to rank their intensity. Kara didn't seem like the kind of person who would...accept that.

“‘Gently’ torturing you.” Kara didn't think that was a thing.

“Compared to, uh—to other times.” Oliver quickly changed the subject. “Then I get healed again.” He bit his lip. “And then I watch myself kill all of my friends. Digg, my sister, everyone except for Felicity.”

Kara readied herself before asking. “And where was she?”

“She—” Oliver's voice broke, “she comes up from behind me and calls me a monster.”

“Hey.” Kara reached out and squeezed Oliver's shoulder reassuringly. “Are you absolutely sure we can't call Felicity? You're _not_ a monster, Oliver, and I'll bet that the woman who loves you would know that.”

“I'm not so sure,” Oliver said. “Look: the last time that I met with my team, I nearly killed my best friend, John Diggle.”

“...Surely not intentionally.” This must've been the bloodlust Oliver had spoke of, or some PTSD episode.

“ _Of_ _course_ _not_. He threw a punch, rightfully angry at me for what I did as Al Sa-him. I…reacted. I broke his arm and nearly snapped his neck. Felicity stopped me...and I ran.”

“Have you been in contact with them since? Even to apologize?”

“They—they won't want to hear from me. No one would.”

“I would,” Kara stated. She ran and got her computer from her room. “We’re calling Diggle.”

“No,” Oliver said. Kara proceeded to open up the computer and log on to Skype. “Later.” Kara gave him that ‘yeah right’ look. “Later. I promise.”

“Fine.” Kara closed the laptop, but set it down on the counter so that there was no way she’d forget to open it later.

“Time passes slower for them than it does for us. ‘Later’ could be a mere minute’s difference.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kara looked at the clock. “Well, it’s five a.m..”

“The D.E.O. activated? We could check on Winn’s progress.” Distractions would be most appreciated.

“Oliver, it’s five a.m.. Winn’s sleeping.”

Oliver’s eyes widened and he almost asked her ‘why?’. Kara seemed to pick up.

“I know you're nocturnal and don't sleep or whatever but I'd expect you'd at least understand the concept of self care,” Kara said. Oliver remembered Diggle and Felicity lecturing him on the same thing when they found out he'd been sleeping on the floor of the foundry.

“Sure, I understand self care, and I know that other people should meet their needs, but Winn’s a government agent with an assignment.”

“Shouldn't we value quality over speed?”

“Yes, but there aren't varying degrees of quality in syncing some tracking tech. Speed is what we need in this case, contrary to what I repeatedly tell Barry.”

“So you're admitting to being hypocritical or being indecisive?”

“I'm admitting to being right,” Oliver said. “So, can we go and see what progress Winn made before or during the night or should we go to his house and wake him up to ask?”

“You know I'm just giving you a hard time, right?” Kara laughed.

“Believe it or not: I noticed,” Oliver said, chuckling. “But it was an argument, and I recognize that.”

“So...other people employ self-care, and you should too?”

“Wait, I thought we—” _were_ _arguing_ _about_ _something_ _completely_ _different_. “Yeah, fine. Self-care. It seems like I actually changed the subject in my head as well.”

“So you're avoiding the concept for fear of enticement?”

“You think I don't value taking care of myself?”

“I don't think it's a priority for you.”

Oliver started fidgeting with his hands and looked down again. “Why would it be?” He knew he would get in trouble for this statement, but part of him wanted to be convinced out of his manner of thinking.

“Because you're important.” Kara sat down crisscross so she was facing Oliver. “And you deserve to be healthy and happy.” Oliver raised an eyebrow; Kara tried a different tactic. “If you want to protect your city, you need to be one hundred percent functional.”

“The peril of the city,” Oliver said slowly, “won't allow for my beauty sleep.”

“That's what you have a team for.”

“I don't have a team anymore.”

“I think you do, that they're just waiting for you.”

“They waited for a long time; Al Sa-him returned...and they don't want him.”

“No, they want you,” Kara insisted.

“Well, I'm not myself anymore!” Oliver was suddenly shouting. “The part of me that will never change is my ability to change in the first place! I adapt, I evolve, but I can _never_ go back to the way I was!”

“But you can make the most out of what you are now. That’s all anyone can hope for,” Kara said. Oliver just scoffed disbelievingly. “Hey, let's get you to the D.E.O. so you can beat people up. I'm guessing that's how you...diffuse or whatever.”  
Oliver smiled sadly. “Alright.”

++++++

As Kara had predicted, Winn was not working at the D.E.O. when they arrived. J’onn was up, not having any form of consistent sleep schedule—he'd work for days on end, and then hibernate on a hair trigger.

“Supergirl, Mr. Queen,” J’onn greeted. He jogged up the stairs. “You're here early—new developments?”

“No, just inquiring after Winn’s progress with that tracker,” Kara said.

“Well, he is making progress, but the incompatibility of the foreign technology is greatly extending his efforts; he only went to bed an hour ago. It's the best lead we have, though, other than Lena Luthor. She was arrested last night, but I suspect you made yourself aware of the fact as soon as it was revealed.”

“She won't be arrested for long,” Kara said almost instantly, pointedly stalking away.

“Lena Luthor is innocent,” Oliver said in a low voice to J’onn.

“I am predisposed to trust your judgement, but it's likely you're simply predisposed to trust Kara’s.”

“I have my own corroboration, actually. I trust my own judgement more than anyone else's; it’s kept me alive.”

“I can respect that...but you're new in town.”

“Hmm.”

The two nodded to each other and parted ways. Oliver looked around but didn't see Kara. He wanted to call her name, but the quiet morning atmosphere wouldn't seem to allow it. He didn't want to sound frantic, particularly because he wasn't, so he stalked away to the training area, which was adjacent to the sparring room he'd been in the day before. He knew Kara came in here to train, but now entering, he couldn't think of any reason she’d want to train in a room where she couldn't fly. She flew plenty, though, Oliver reasoned, it would be useful to occasionally train in privacy.

Kara was avoiding Oliver on purpose. Some of the things he told her, she just didn't know how to respond or how to help him. If she was completely honest, she was sickened by what Ra’s had done. She had witnessed many kinds of evil in her lifetime, but to hurt someone repeatedly just so that they can become something they’d hate...that was beyond evil.

She wasn't sure how to approach Oliver about some of this stuff. She wasn't going to try to make light of it, or talk about it in too happy of terms, but she didn't want to talk like it was as horrible as she perceived it to be; Oliver seemed to be accepting what happened to him more than he should, and feeding that belief could be extremely detrimental.

Kara sighed; what Barry had given her to handle was a far greater challenge than any super villain.

++++++

J'onn and Oliver had just gotten the D.E.O.’s tech team to start fiddling with the work Winn had started when the said I.T. expert entered the room looking groggy.

“Hey, hey, hey! Don't—” Winn rubbed his shadowed eyes, “don't touch that.”

Oliver made the tech team step back a bit. “How’d you know we were working on it?” Oliver asked.

“My spidey senses were tingling. Don't touch my stuff.”

“Okay, point made. Are you going to go back to sleep, or—”

“I'm going to keep working if it so desperately needs to be done. I've just gotten,” Winn looked at the digital clock on a computer screen, “two hours and seventeen minutes of sleep. What else can I ask for?” Winn slumped into his chair.  
Winn reminded Oliver of Felicity a bit. Felicity was always very protective over her tech and _hated_ other people messing up her work.

“He sleeps here?” Oliver asked J’onn in a hushed voice.

“Not typically.”

“Oliver? Hey,” Kara entered the main room and spotted Oliver.

“Umm…” Oliver turned to face her. “Yeah?”

“I was going to go to CatCo. You're coming, right?”

“Yes. Where were you?”

“I was…” _researching_ _post_ - _traumatic_ _stress_ “praying.”  
  
++++++  
  
Kara followed James as he speed-walked through the office, Oliver in tow. “Where’s my art? What's going on?” Kara asked.

They were going to publish the magazine that day, but Kara’s cover had apparently been discarded; pictures of Lena from her testimony against Lillian were everywhere. ‘ _True_ _to_ _her_ _name_?’ the caption read.

“We’re crashing the cover,” James said.

“But our pub date is today. The cover’s set!”

“Yeah, that’s why they call it a crash.”

Snapper Carr joined the walk, characteristically scowling. “We’re fourth estate, not Reddit. Copy can't wait another second…” Snapper handed her a copy of the magazine. “I sent it down to layouts already. This is for you.”

Kara looked down at the magazine and back up. “Wait, you're putting Lena Luthor on the cover? She doesn't need to be a front page story.”

“She’s arguably the most famous name in National City, Danvers. Her notorious brother’s in prison. Of course I'm putting her on the cover, she's a Luthor.”

“But she didn't do it.”

“Have you seen the video? Or are you letting a budding friendship corrupt your reporting?”

Kara nearly scoffed. ‘ _Budding_ _friendship_ —’ _Wait_. “—Video?”

“Yeah,” James said. He pulled the video up so it played on one of the many screens nearby. The video depicted Lena crouching down to a cupboard in her office and collecting Kryptonite from inside.

“It has to be doctored,” Kara said immediately. “I know Lena, and she’d never aid in such a crime.”

“Who’s got confirmation bias now?” Snapper drawled.

“She told me, on the record, she didn't do it,” Kara argued, wondering why on earth James wouldn't even question someone’s guilt when half the city was out to get that person. It was at this time that Oliver separated from the group.

“She said, she said,” Snapper said. “This time we need more than a quote. Otherwise, it's just a conspiracy theory for Twitter.”  
“Well, I’ll keep digging then.”

“Your gumption annoys me to no end…” Snapper continued, but Oliver had stalked away. He found a desk near the head office which held, presumably, previous magazine publications. There was someone sitting there. Her name tag read ‘Eve Teschmacher.’

“Hey.” Oliver got Eve’s attention. She jumped a bit, startled by his sudden presence, but looked up pleasantly and expectantly. Oliver tapped on the pile of magazines. “I've been out of town for a bit. Mind if I look through the past...three months?” He gave her the charming ‘Ollie’ smile he'd perfected that tended to produce results.

Eve blushed and knocked over a pencil jar in a rush to find the last three publications in the pile. Somehow, they were in the middle rather than the top, which Oliver supposed must mean there was information towards the top of the pile that Eve was reviewing. He looked at the dates and memorized them.

“Here you go,” Eve breathed.

“Thanks.” Oliver started looking through the first one for important names and disasters. If he was going to start patrolling the city, he was going to start fresh; just the way he had when he returned to Starling City because he hadn't changed, and he was going to ring himself again.

“So, you walked in here with Kara Danvers,” Eve said. Oliver looked back at her and shut the magazine over his finger. “Are you two together?”

“No, we’re friends.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

Eve blushed again. “Well, I'm recently single and—” she seemed to compose herself a bit “...you should tell Kara that she should get back together with Mike.”

“Mike? Kara hasn't told me about him.”

“Yeah, cute guy—not as cute as you, don't worry—brunette, clueless, works at a bar...and he's obsessed with Kara. Seriously. I went on a date with him, and he spoke only of Kara. Entire time!”

Oh. Mon-El. “Actually...I think ‘Mike’ does ring a bell. Yeah, Kara said she wasn't interested. Best you don't say anything.”

“...Okay.”

Oliver looked over to where he knew Kara to be and saw her then conversing—rather angrily—with James Olsen, who Oliver knew to be the Guardian. “Bye,” Oliver whispered. He started to walk away but stopped, awkwardly looking between the magazines he was holding and the stack they'd come from.

“Oh, you can keep them!” Eve practically squealed.

“Thank you,” Oliver said, proceeding to walk over towards Kara. He felt Eve’s eyes on his back or perhaps elsewhere. He chuckled.

“...I know she's your friend, Kara, but Lena's bad news,” Oliver heard James say a he approached.

“Why, because she’s a Luthor?”

“No, because she’s guilty. And if you don't see that, I'm gonna prove it to you.”

Kara lowered and shook her head before spotting Oliver. James was starting to drift away but Kara called him back.

“James! Hey, James! This is Oliver Queen,” Kara introduced. James spun around and shook Oliver’s hand.

“New boyfriend?”

“Oh, for everything good in this world, is that the only thing a new man in my presence can be?!”

James's eyebrows raised. “No, sorry. Good to meet you, Mr. Queen.”

“Actually, I believe we met last night,” Oliver said. “On your night shift,” he added lowly.

James let go of Oliver's hand and didn't seem to know how to respond. Kara grabbed a sleeve of each of their shirts and brought them into a nearby storage closet that was surprisingly spacious.

“What were you doing there?!” James whisper-yelled at Oliver as soon as the door closed.

“Getting answers.” Oliver didn't seem to be trying to be quiet, mostly because he'd perfected the art of talking amongst people without giving anything away.

“I know now from Detective Maggie Sawyer that you had Lena Luthor at arrowpoint!”

“My methods may differ from yours.”

“We will bring Luthor to justice in a court of law, not by murder!”

“You're hasty in assuming my motives.”

“You're okay with this?!” James asked Kara.

“I wasn't, but at least he’s fighting for the right thing, and he was willing to hear an innocent woman out!”

James burst out of the room, quickly fixing his exterior to be more suitable for a work environment.

“I—” Kara huffed, leaning against the doorframe.

“He's new at this, isn't he?”

“Sorta.”

Kara's phone started buzzing in her pocket. She answered it immediately.

“Winn?”

“ _I_ _have_ _a_ _location_.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's...been longer than usual, hasn't it? Sorry. I did draw a cover, though, and I'll post it once I figure out how.

_“50 miles north of Mount Whitney!”_

Kara whipped off her glasses and made for the balcony, pulling Oliver along with her.

“J’onn?” Oliver asked.

“Winn.” Kara stripped her work clothes off in less than a second and stood in her Supergirl costume. “Here. Uh…” Kara started awkwardly trying to grab Oliver in the best way to fly with him, and the two unspokenly came to an agreement when Oliver grabbed both of her hands and spun himself—almost as if he was swing dancing—into her arms so that he was in a sort of ‘straight jacket’ position. “That, uh...that works,” said Kara. Oliver motioned with his head to the balcony and the two were off.

This ride, obviously, was longer than the last few as it covered a far greater distance, but Kara’s fervent desire to get there kept it short nonetheless. It was a bit of a struggle to breathe for Oliver—being so high up and moving at such a high speed—but he knew that with some practice and conditioning he would be fine.

Because of their entanglement, Kara did not drop Oliver before she landed. The landing was fine though, and Oliver was grateful he hadn't jammed or hyperextended his knees upon impact—Kara was still careful, he noticed.

They'd landed in what appeared to be some form of large storage space. Kara had flown in through a gap in between two massive sliding doors, wide enough for a car—or getaway van, Oliver noticed—to fit through. The ceiling was high, and the far wall consisted only of reinforced area of the mountain the building was built at the base of.

While Oliver recovered, Kara swept the area. She found the van with the tracker, but it was abandoned. There were many suspicious-looking weapons and foreign objects, so she assumed they'd found the right place, but there was not another soul in sight.

“I can't find anyone,” Kara stated as she returned to Oliver, who she saw was carefully taking in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was a box-like set up in the middle of the room. “I guess we’ll wait them out.”

Oliver had a few other ideas, but he figured Kara was calling the shots. “So this is Cadmus?”

“I would think so, but they never really shy away from displaying their name. This place it full of anti-alien technology, but the only name I can find here is ‘Luthor.’”

“As in Lillian?”

“Lex.”

“Lena’s brother?”

“Lena’s _step_ brother, and my cousin’s archenemy.” Oliver stuttered to ask something. “He's in prison.”

“Your cousin?” Which was who Oliver was starting to ask about, not Lex.

“No, silly. Lex.”

“Don't call me silly.”

“Grumpy, then.”

“Suits me…”

“No kidding.”

“I thought we just established: I don't kid.” Kara giggled at this, assuming Oliver was jus then trying to ‘kid,’ and was surprised when Oliver reciprocated. Not giggling, of course, but laughing a bit. “So Lex is a terrorist and your cousin is a superhero?”

“Nailed it.”

“So...are we going to look into the area? We’re on an enemy base, Lex or Cadmus, and there's…” Oliver looked around “...no evident adversity.”

“Uh...yeah.” Kara had actually thought of no such thing, and was starting to feel a little ridiculous and embarrassed. “Obviously.” She followed after Oliver, who had stalked off in some direction to look for information.

“Are the D.E.O. coming or is it gonna be just us?”

“They're probably on their way,” Kara answered.

“Do we need them for a confrontation? How much of a threat is John Corben?”

“Well, his heart’s been replaced with Kryptonite, as you've probably heard. Kryptonite weakens me, and is the only substance on earth that can kill me. Metallo was designed specifically to counter me and my cousin."

“So yes, we need backup.” Oliver concluded.

“No. I've fought Metallo off before, and bringing D.E.O. agents into the picture will only put them in danger if they aren't properly equipped—which I know they aren't.”

 _And you have me,_ Oliver almost said, but the words died in his mouth as he was reminded of his potential unreliability due to his condition. He also was unsure of how useful he would be in battle with other participants so powerful—

“Anyways, I _do_ have backup; I have you,” Kara said matter-of-factly.

Oliver stood stupefied because _that was what he needed,_ and he was even aware of that. That distinct affirmation was just what he needed to ready himself for battle, because then he knew his place. He was supposed to fight _alongside_ Kara, not in the background or as some spectator...but there was still something about being in a different universe and being ‘out of his element’ in many ways that kept the back of his head nagging that he wasn't enough or simply didn't belong.

“You have what's left of me,” said Oliver. A definitive statement, because he wasn't sure what was left of Oliver Queen. He would, however, work hard to establish an equal place beside Kara to form order; he'd give her all he could.

“Hey, you ca—”

“So we do want them to come to this building,” Oliver clarified, interrupting Kara. He didn't know quite why, but he had no desire to hear Kara try to convince him out of his manner of thinking. He truly didn't want to continuously remind himself of who he was or wasn't, but he couldn't afford to be any more unsure of himself than he already was. Oliver wasn't used to being unsure, and any more insecurity in his role or identity was certain to overwhelm him.

“Yes.” Kara straightened her posture to remind herself of her current mission as Supergirl, which was taking out Metallo and restoring Lena's name. Despite badly wanting to help Oliver in any way she could, she understood that with a task at hand, focusing was key—and it seemed to keep Oliver from falling too far back in his head.

“Soon as possible?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s make that happen. Kara, can you collect all of the file cabinets and open projects and hide them?”

“Okay, uh...where?”

“Somewhere far off, maybe not even in the facility.”

“Alrighty.” Kara was still hesitant, not knowing exactly what Oliver was planning to do. “What will you do?”

“Collect data from the computers, and…you’ll know it when you see it.”

Kara sped off, working so quickly that she left winds in her wake. Oliver went in a different direction, silently thanking the signs that lead him to the ‘Control Room.’ When he got to said room, he was shocked by the similarities in design it had to the D.E.O.. Sifting through some drawers, he found a thumb drive, which he immediately plugged into the mainframe computer and set it up to upload all data. He couldn’t forget to take the drive out after the imminent battle with Cadmus.

Oliver left the control room, starting to navigate over to some sort of parking area or stock room, but something caught his eye. Down a corridor, there was a sliding door that appeared to have frozen halfway open. Beyond it was what appeared to be some sort of black cube...but it was _glowing_ , generating an eerie light green. Naturally, Oliver had to check it out; obviously someone--most likely Cadmus--had made quite an effort to get the doors open as far as they were. Approaching the door even closer, this assumption was promoted by crowbar marks that slightly distorted and sharpened in places each of the slides, which appeared to be steel. Oliver recognized that a crowbar able to cause that much damage must’ve been wielded by multiple people...but in this universe it was most likely someone with inhuman strength.

He walked through the gap in the doors, which gave just enough room for his shoulders. The ceiling seemed to fade into blackness, so Oliver supposed it was very high. Being the only thing apparently in the room, the cube must’ve been very important. He saw then that the cube was about the size of his fist and was on top of a futuristic-looking pedestal. He started to move closer and perhaps take it in his hand--

_FWIP!_

Before Oliver was sure of what was happening, he was suspended three feet in the air by his ankle, which he couldn’t help but notice took the pull admirably. He sighed when he felt the blood rush to his head and closed his eyes. _Metal cord,_ he noted, feeling the wire digging into his ankle with the pressure of all his body weight. He tried to remember everything he’d seen on his way into the room.

High ceiling: _swing space…_

Crowbar damage: _sharp edges…_

He then remembered the patch of wiring on the wall beside the sliding doors, which must have used to be a control panel of some sort that opened and closed the door. Obviously, it didn’t seem to be working to _open_ the door...perhaps it would work to close it.

He brought his upper body up and let it fall back down to start creating momentum. He continued to swing until his head reached the half-open doorway, where he grabbed each door slide. The sharp edges hurt his hands but didn’t draw blood, unlike his ankle where he was beginning to feel blood trickle. Straining, he pushed his torso through the doorway until he could get his free left leg through as well. The cord seemed determined to pull him back into the black room, and he just barely managed to get his roped foot through the door so it rested just barely on the edge of its exterior. He was just about to reach the dessicated control panel and force the doors to close and cut the cord, but some burst of white-blue light beat him to it. He withdrew his hand and covered his neck, at first assuming he was being shot at, but when he felt the door close and he fell unceremoniously to the ground he began to think otherwise.

“What’s going on?!” Kara demanded, hustling over to help Oliver up. So the white light was Kara’s laser vision…

“Booby trap,” Oliver grumbled as Kara pulled him to his feet. The cord looped around his ankle still remained, but was, obviously, much shorter after having been cut. “I got too close to something.”

“Okay, but next time you call me to help you out instead of taking things into your own hands like that,” Kara said, eyes boring into Oliver’s as if expecting some form of promise.

“Aren’t you a bit more interested in what was so important that it had to be booby trapped?”

“My interests will always lie with my friends rather than my enemies.”

“I’m your friend?!” Oliver blurted out, surprising himself.

“Yes! Yes, of course you’re my friend. Isn’t that how I’ve been introducing you to, like, everyone? Why--why would you think otherwise?” Was she not showing him enough support for him to be her friend, or to regard her as one? Did he not consider _her_ his friend?

“I’m...just surprised that I haven’t frightened you off yet.”

“I’m not easily frightened, and I thought we established that you can’t hurt me if you want to?”

“I can still repulse you. In my state I’m...I _should_ be easily spurned.”

“Oliver…”

“In that room there was a small black cube--”

“Oliver.”

“It was glowing. Green.”

“Oliver, LISTEN TO ME!” Kara grabbed his hand and spun him to face her. “You are a _good man._ I barely know you and that much I can tell. I don’t care _what_ you think you are, what you think you’ve done or would do to your friends! You are _not_ what has been done to you, or what this Ra’s character has made you do! _You are my friend,_ and I will _not_ let you continue thinking this way!”

“Well then you’ll have to brainwash me also.” Oliver started walking back down the corridor to his original track.

“You did _not_ just compare me to that wicked, _wicked_ man!” Kara shouted after him as she caught up.

“No. No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Oliver stopped and looked at her, expecting anger, but she just looked sad.

Kara grabbed his forearm lightly. “I’m here for you, that’s all.”

Oliver nodded slightly. “I’m here for you, too, if you need me.”

Kara wished she could hug him, but wasn’t sure how he’d respond. She instead gently squeezed his forearm and smiled slightly. The two continued walking and rounded the corner out of the corridor.

Oliver shook his head, almost as if to clear his thoughts, then he looked around in the parking area. Or what he _assumed_ was a parking area despite the lack of cars. He supposed it also could’ve been an area for testing experiments or...weapons.

“The D.E.O. will be here in a few minutes,” Kara said.

Oliver growled in frustration. “No time!”

“Time for what?”

“To make a bomb.”

“A bomb?”

“A bomb. I’d need time to find materials…”

“Materials?”

“Materials. Rock salt, a fuse, some…why are you looking at me like that?”

Kara was raising her eyebrows and smirking. “You want to make an explosion?”

“To draw Cadmus’s attention, yes,” Oliver said.

“There’s a giant tank of gasoline over there,” said Kara, pointing across the room.

Oliver made to run over to the tank, but Kara stuck her arm in front of him, grabbing his shirt in case he would fall. “But we need to light--”

With carefully honed precision, Kara shot the tank with her heat vision from her spot across the room, taking Oliver with her as she surged in the other direction to avoid the blast. She took them back to the corridor they’d been in a bit before, rounding the corner just in time; a wall of fire clouded where they had been moments before. Oliver could actually feel the heat on his face, and it made him feel surprisingly nostalgic; it used to be all the time that he’d have such close calls with explosions.

“A bit of warning next time? God, you’re just like Barry,” Oliver said, leaning against the cement wall.

“...Sorry. You kind of implied we were in a hurry.”

“Not _that much_ of a hurry.”

“Sorry.”

“You already said that,” Oliver said. Kara began to feel guilty, but when Oliver looked up at her, smiling, that feeling was lost. “Laser vision: good substitute for explosive arrows.”

“‘Substitute?’ Ex _cuse_ me?” Kara laughed. Oliver batted at her arm playfully, mocking the action he’d seen Kara do multiple times and looked around the corner to see how much the fire had let up. Because of the desolateness of the mostly cement and rock building, fire from the explosion cleared rather quickly. The signs Oliver had noticed earlier were, however, charred.

Oliver was certain that the initial blast would’ve knocked out whatever monitors Cadmus had set up.

 

...The D.E.O. arrived five minutes later to find shrapnel and small fires all over the ground, but there was no sign of Cadmus.

Alex had a bit of difficulty finding Kara and Oliver in the throng of D.E.O. agents that ran about after the hiding place of information that kar had told them of, but she eventually spotted Kara’s red cape and ran over.

“Hey, Kara!” Alex shouted. Both Kara and Oliver turned their heads. “Oliver. J’onn said to give this to you,” she said, holding out he long black case she’d been carrying.

Oliver looked at her questioningly before he took the case in his hands and undid the lock, opening it to reveal an elegant black shortbow and a quiver of a dozen or so arrows. There was also a thigh-quiver of four of the shorter arrows he had always used for throwing.

“Wow. I...thank you,” Oliver breathed, setting the case down on the ground and slinging the quiver over his shoulder. He held the bow and pulled the string back to test its weight. Perfect.

“Winn was...well, eager. He found that pretty early on,” said Alex.

“Don’t dry fire!” Kara blurted, revealing one of the very few random things she knew about archery. Oliver slowly released the tension in the bow and gave Kara a look. “...And I know you know that.”

 

...Hours passed and still Cadmus had yet to show. The D.E.O. was still conducting a thorough search of the premises and had already arranged positions for each person when it was known Cadmus would be coming. Oliver had told Alex about the thumb drive in the control room.

Kara and Oliver finally ran into J’onn, who was impressed with Oliver’s idea to create an explosion but dissatisfied that it didn’t yield results.

“Thank you, by the way,” Oliver added, nodding over his shoulder to reference his quiver and bow as their conversation with J’onn was coming to a close.

“We figured the Arrow needed a bow,” J’onn said, smiling slightly. His voice then took a subtly darker tone. “Especially in battle.”

 

...But battle didn’t come until far later. Most agents eventually became bored and some were even dismissed back to headquarters. After Kara’s insistence, Alex dressed the wound on Olivers ankle once the Kyptonian lasered the wire off.

It was nearing eight o’clock when J’onn came up to Kara and Oliver. “We have reason to believe that that,” he pointed over to the small building in the middle of the room, “contains weapons against Kryptonians and is Cadmus’s target. It requires DNA access; we don’t know of whom, but we can expect it to be Luthor.”

“If it’s Luthor DNA that’s needed, then why can’t Lillian open it up herself?”

“We suspect Cadmus may have shown up earlier, despite the accounts of our scouts, and retreated when they saw our force.”

“Or maybe the DNA needs to come from Lionel Luthor’s side of the family...Kara, we need to get to the prison!” Oliver took his new bow in his hand and held it battle ready as he stalked towards the now open wall to outside.

“Lena’s in danger?!” Kara grabbed him around the middle before he even had a chance to answer and flew from the building and into the darkening sky. “How do you know Lionel’s name?!” she shouted as she flew.

“I’ll explain later! But that's not all I know: Lionel is Lena’s biological father!”

“What?!” Kara said as they landed just outside the prison.

“Later!”

 _“Supergirl! We’re under attack!”_ came J’onn’s urgent voice through Kara’s comm. _“We’ve got dozens of Cadmus minions and,”_ he grunted, “ _Cyborg Superman! Get over here! Ahrrrgggg!”_

Obviously, J’onn was in combat.

“Go.” Oliver urged Kara, who looked apprehensive. She kept looking from the prison to the sky. “Go! I've got this!” he assured her.

“But Metallo…” Kara started back-pedaling. “Alright. I trust you. Don't let anything happen to her!” She shot off to return to Lex’s warehouse.

“I won't,” Oliver muttered to the sky before running around to the back of the prison, where breaking and entering would likely be easier.

It seemed someone had beat him to it: a man sized hole was burned through the wire fencing. It was convenient, but nonetheless alarming. He ran through the hole—noticing two different lines of footprints on the ground—to find another, this one through foot-thick cement. He briefly wondered where all the guards were, but then decided he didn't even want to think about it. He became acutely aware of his lack of hood and costume, but knowing the city’s lack of recognition of Oliver Queen (and apparent lack of prison guards) he figured it would be fine at least for the time being. He ran through this gap as well and was instantly met with a flash of black, silver, and green across it vision, followed by the sound of a grunt from the other side of the hallway. It didn't take Oliver long to figure out that someone had been thrown across the room, but instead of looking to see who it was he looked in the other direction to find John Corben, whose chest was glowing green and whose eyes were fixed directly on Oliver.

Metallo wasted no time in shooting at Oliver with his Kryptonite beam, but Oliver nimbly avoided it with a roll. It was strange, but Oliver found himself thankful that Corben was armed with such a powerful weapon (It could take down _Kryptonians_ for God’s sakes!); having such a weapon at one’s disposal would likely cause them to forgo usual practices of combat, such as hand to hand.

After moving slightly closer to Corben, Oliver dodged another blast, this time noticing a yelp come from his right. He looked and saw Lena pressed against the far wall of her cell. _This woman really can't catch a break._ He remembered his promise to Kara to keep Lena safe and charged, nocking an arrow and leaning backward to avoid yet another of Corben’s beams. He shot the arrow, which Corben caught easily and snapped it in his hand. Oliver attempted a sweep kick but Corben unexpectedly picked him up by his shoulder and through him against the wall.

Oliver pretended to slump unconsciously avoid further beating, but all that was really wrong with him was a pain in his back that was sure to bruise. He watched through squinted eyes as Metallo busted the lock off of Lena’s cell and swung the door open.

“Hello, Ms. Luthor. Sorry for the delay,” said Corben with false sincerity. Lena recoiled even further.

Oliver took one of his shorter arrows into his hand and leaned forward slightly. “Hey!” he shouted at Corben, trying to sound pained so that he wouldn't come off as an immediate threat. Corben turned around with a sneer on his face.

Without hesitation, Oliver’s hand shot up and the throwing arrow he'd been holding flew straight into Corben’s eye. Corben stumbled for a moment, hand shooting up to his face, before he fell straight backwards. Oliver stood up and approached Corben’s prone form. The man’s Kryptonite heart pulsed green but gradually became weaker and weaker until it eventually was put out entirely.

Oliver expected to feel something. He'd killed, hadn't he? He was supposed to feel relief, some let up in the pressure he had in his bones and brain! There was nothing. _Nothing!_ No reward, no ease!

“Is he dead?” came Lena’s voice from his left.

Oliver looked over at her. “Yes,” he said shortly. _Or he's supposed to be._

“Good,” Lena said, sniffing and holding her head a little higher.

After a moment of silence, Oliver spoke again. “You know you're going to have to stay here the night.”

“Yes,” Lena muttered.

“But not another night after this. Kara Danvers will make sure of that.” Oliver watched as something sparked in Lena’s eyes at the mention of Kara’s name, like she knew she was safe.

“She sent you,” Lena deduced.

“Yes, she did.” Oliver started to walk away, but paused. “I apologize for the trouble I gave you last night.”

Lena waited a moment. “I'm sure you had your reasons. I'm not exactly the most popular name in National City.”

“But for frightening you, I am sorry.”

“You've made up by saving me. Just move that body a bit and we’re good.”

Oliver glanced down at Corben’s body. He walked back over to it and dragged it by the arms out of Lena’s sight. He was about to go collect the person he'd seen shot across the room when a thought occurred to him. The Kryptonite: it was the only thing that could hurt Kara, and everyone had made quite a big deal about how difficult it was to obtain. Taking hold of an arrow, Oliver brought it down into Corben’s exposed chest and dug the rock of Kryptonite out from the metal center of the body.

He held the Kryptonite in his hand, not as a trophy as he could have and probably would have if the kill had done anything to sate his bloodlust. Perhaps Corben wasn't even truly alive to begin with.

Oliver jogged down the hallway to the form on the ground that appeared to have just roused. It was Guardian. Oliver knelt down and helped James sit up.

“What…” James said groggily, pulling his mask off perhaps to get more air.

“John Corben is dead. We need to move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you like, have a question about, or don't like! (But please keep criticism constructive because I'm sensitive :P )
> 
> Also should I do more from Kara's perspective? I feel like I'm focusing too much on Oliver.


	8. Chapter 8

Oliver and James finally made it back to the D.E.O. around the same time as Kara and J'onn, who'd flown and brought Alex along. J'onn gave the two vigilantes the final lift up into the building. “The rest of the D.E.O. are on their way,” the Martian said. “They've fought off the Cadmus agents, but Luthor and Cyborg Superman got away. They were waiting for Supergirl to leave.”

“Oliver! James?” Kara exclaimed upon seeing them, she moved forward to greet them but suddenly became very dizzy. “...Whoa…” She backed up, quickly recognizing Kryptonite.

“Sorry, Kara. That would be this,” said Oliver, unwrapping the jacket he'd used to cover the Kryptonite on the street and unveiling what he’d retrieved. He backed up a bit to keep it far away from Kara, who was starting to look rather sickly. “You'll want to keep this safe,” he said, giving it to J'onn, who looked stunned.

“Where'd you get this?” J'onn asked. 

“Corben,” Oliver stated simply. 

“That would mean...you guys...you  _ defeated  _ Metallo?” Alex looked shocked.

James sighed. As humiliated as he was that the crazy person with nothing more than a bow and arrow had had to rescue him, James was not one to take credit for something he did not do. “No. That was him,” James said.

“You…” J'onn said, “are an impressive individual.” J'onn clapped him on the back before walking away with the Kryptonite. Kara noticed Oliver wince at the contact.

“You don't know what that means coming from him,” Alex said.

“Are you okay?” Kara asked.

“Bruise. It's not too bad,” Oliver answered.

Winn came sprinting over, a large grin on his face. Mon-El trudged along behind him. “Fought and killed Metallo and came out of it with only a bruise! You, sir, are the  _ baddest  _ of  _ asses!”  _ Winn said. While Oliver didn't think being called ‘bad’ and an ‘ass’ sounded like a compliment when separated, but knew it was one.

“Speaking of bruises...James?” Oliver said.

“Yeah, I should probably get to the medbay,” James said. Alex supported him as they made there way to the medbay.

_ And speaking of asses… _ Oliver thought as Mon-El edged over to him, Kara, and Winn, although Winn was as good as checked out staring at Oliver in admiration. 

“So...how'd you do it?” Mon-El asked. His tone—obviously intentionally—made him sound as if he didn’t actually care or doubted Oliver altogether.

“Arrow through the eye,” Oliver responded, not wanting to start something. “Kills just about anything.”

“Except Corben was, like, half robot.”

“Well, if he wasn't alive then, he definitely isn't now,” Kara reasoned.

“It would take something  _ really  _ special to beat that guy…” Mon-El continued. Oliver was no longer paying attention to Mon-El at all, rather he was focusing on Kara, who had narrowed her eyes.

“What are you trying to say?!” Kara demanded. Mon-El looked taken aback by Kara’s outburst. It was small, but it was significant. Kara never got angry, at least not at him. Mon-El shrugged it off after a moment; Kara was forgiving, and she probably wasn't even mad in the first place.

“Just pointing something out,” Mon-El said.

“What?”

Mon-El looked from Kara to Oliver and back. “Oh, it’s not important.”

“I think it is!”

Oliver was proud of Kara for finally standing up to Mon-El, but wished that it wasn't in his name. 

“Kara—” Mon-El tried again to laugh it off.

“No! It is not okay for you to continue to go at Oliver! Since he's been here, he's done nothing but good. You don't get to make fun of him for  _ nothing  _ just because you're—you're jealous!”

Mon-El scoffed. “Jealous? Jealous of  _ him?  _ You could  _ not  _ be more wrong.”

Kara blew past Mon-El, pulling Oliver long with her to the medbay. They could hear Mon-El scoff again and could only assume that he'd gone off in a different direction. Once they were a safe distance away—probably ten yards from the medbay—they paused.

“Thanks for defending me,” Oliver said.

“Don't mention it; he has no right to try and walk all over you, especially after you went and defeated an enemy we’ve been worrying about for months while he sat here at the D.E.O.,” Kara said, almost to herself.

“And good job, by the way. Way to stand up. He can't walk on you either.” Oliver held his hand down low for a high five, figuring it was the kind of thing Kara would be receptive to. She high-fived him and laughed a little. Oliver marveled at how with all her super strength, she could give a regular amount of high-five strength for a human.

“Plus, there isn't even anything to make fun of you about! Right now, you're J’onn’s wonder child. He loves you.”

“I doubt he would if he knew what was wrong with me.”

“No, he likes  _ you,  _ which is very different from whatever bloodlust Ra's al Ghul gave you,” Kara said when they started walking again. Oliver sighed as they entered the medbay.

James was sitting on a cot in the middle of the room in a black tank top and Alex had just finished dressing the burn wound right below his left collar bone.

“You're lucky you didn't take a direct hit,” Alex said, snapping her gloves off.

“Very lucky,” Kara emphasized, walking into view.

“I had my shield,” James said. He looked off. “I love that shield.”

“No, you're lucky  _ he  _ was there to save you.” Kara nudged Oliver, who backed up a bit when his name was mentioned. “You could've been killed, James!” said Kara. 

“I know what I'm doing, Kara,” James said. “I wouldn't have let that happen.”

“What about Lena? What if he'd taken her?” Kara shuddered at the thought. “What if he'd  _ killed  _ her. Would you have ‘allowed’  _ that?” _

“Kara, I wouldn't let anyone get killed, not even a criminal. What is it going to take for you to realize that she’s not the victim? She took the Kryptonite, and he tried to break her out of prison. They're partners,” James said, wincing as he stands good up. Kara stormed from the room at this, and James followed her.

“Lena’s not a member of Cadmus! She's not!” Kara spun around angrily. “She stopped the gang with alien weapons. She saved Alex’s life when Corben tried to kill her; she shot Corben and then her crazy mom turned him into Metallo!”

“So?” James retorted. “That could've been the plan the entire time. We have to start treating Lena Luthor like a hostile. The evidence is too overwhelming.”

Kara and James started walking again and this time Oliver followed. He wanted to get in on the argument, but knew that it was not his place; this fight was between two good friends.

“Winn?” Kara called. Winn perked up and looked at her. “If you watch that video, I know you'll find something.”

“I did. It's...it's clean.”

“Then find something to prove her innocent,” Kara said. She and James the. continued arguing. 

Winn was about to sigh in defeat and run the same checks as he had before, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Winn jumped, as he had not been aware of Oliver’s presence before then. Oliver had a way of moving around completely unnoticed. “Whoa! Hey.”

“Sorry.” Oliver bent over to look at Winn’s computer screen. “So, you've looked at the original CCTV footage from L-Corp?”

“Yep. Hacked it ages ago.” Winn seemed to swell with pride. “But there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.”

“Well, instead of looking for tampering in the footage, see if there's evidence of previous hackers breaking into the mainframe,” Oliver said.

“You seem savvy. You a hacker too?”

“Not much of one. Nah, I’ve got a—a friend. I listen to her, although I don't know what she says half the time. Get going on that if you would. Thanks.” Oliver left Winn and stumbled right into the middle of Kara and James’ argument.

“...Lena is not Lex.”

“But they grew up in the same house, Kara! I don't understand why you keep defending her,” James said. “You have so much faith in her, and none in me, as Guardian.”

“That is entirely different. I am trying to protect you,” Kara said.

“And Oliver doesn't need that same protection? What makes him so much more reliable than me?” said James. Oliver did his best impression of s deer in headlights. He  _ really  _ didn't want to be brought up.

“He's been doing this—training—for a long time! He's endured  _ so much  _ to get where he is now!” Kara shouted.

“And what, you're saying I can't handle it?!”

“She's saying you don't want to!” Oliver burst out. “You don't—no one should.”

“I wouldn't have started this if I didn't know the risks!” James said, wondering exactly when the conversation had turned to focus on him.

“I don't think you do,” Oliver said. “If I'm right: you've been watching Kara, and that’s why you started living this life.”

“You don't know me.” James turned away from Oliver, shutting him out of the conversation.

“Look, James,” Kara sighed. “Human life is so—so fragile, and I know I can't stop you from going out there and endangering it, but...I just want to protect you, that's all.”

“I don't need your protection, I need your trust,” James said. “You have mine. I don't understand why it's so hard for me to get yours.” He walked away.

Kara and Oliver moved closer to each other and said nothing for a while. Oliver could tell Kara was fuming, having lost patience with almost everyone in the building.

“You have to deal with a lot, don't you.” Oliver said. He knew that often times someone else voicing your problems helped with frustration, because it made it clear that they weren't the only person who knew what was wrong.

“I just—I miss having problems that I can punch,” Kara admitted. Oliver was suddenly aware of the similarities between himself and the Kryptonian—they both seemed to diffuse anger and frustration physically.

“Hey, how about tomorrow morning we go out in the streets. Together. It'll be fun,” Oliver offered.

“I thought you didn't work in daylight.”

“It'll be dark if we go out early enough.”

Kara smiled at him. “I look forward to it.”

Oliver looked back over at Winn, who was typing furiously. “Have you found anything yet?”

“Haven't you ever heard the phrase ‘a watched pot never—’ Oh. Whoa, wait a second, I might be simmering,” Winn said, eyes widening.

“What is it?” Kara asked, looking over Winn’s shoulder.

“Okay, so I hacked into L-Corp CCTV to get a copy of the raw video footage of Lena taking the Kryptonite. But, ha! It looks like somebody already hacked into this system a couple of days ago, just like Arrow said!” Winn exclaimed. He spoke very quickly. “I know this code. This is the same code the real Hank Henshaw used the day he broke into L-Corp to take the isotope. Okay, okay, if the video was corrupted by Henshaw's cyborg signature, then I can reverse that signature and decrypt it and separate the raw video file from the corrupted one...and…” The video on Winn’s screen showed Cyborg Superman stealing the Kryptonite. “Ha! Lena didn't do it. You were right? I mean, you were right.”

“Yeah,” Kara said, smiling. Lena was safe.

“J’onn?! What the hell?!” Oliver exclaimed when he saw Hank Henshaw on the screen. Both Kara and Winn laughed a little.

“No, that's the original Hank Henshaw. He's evil and works for Cadmus. J’onn just takes his form,” Kara explained.

“His...form? What?” Oliver tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Well, J'onn’s a shapeshifter. The real Hank Henshaw used to be in charge of the D.E.O..” Kara said.

“...Okay.”

 

The next morning, Kara and Oliver were up at 5:00 AM, dressed and ready to fight crime. Winn had overheard their plan the night before, and was very eager to join in. It was a comfort to Oliver, who was used to have someone talking to him throughout his endeavors. He only wished it were Felicity. 

In the mess, Kara had forgotten until late to make Oliver call Diggle. She figured, just as Oliver had, that it wouldn't be that much time difference on Earth-1, so she decided they'd call the next day. 

The two had gone to bed at a reasonable time, and to Kara’s surprise she hadn't had to wake Oliver from any nightmares the entire night. She thought it might be because of the exercise he had gotten while fighting Metallo.

It was funny how excited both Kara and Oliver got when Winn came in on the comms saying that there was a potential robbery in progress in the city, but as if surprised by a thought of his, Oliver quickly put a hand on the speaker that connected them to Winn.

“Kara—don't let me kill anyone,” he said in a low voice.

Kara put a hand on her speaker as well. “You were fine sparring a few days ago. Has it gotten worse?” she asked.

“Yes,” was all he said. 

 

When they arrived to find that there really  _ was  _ a robbery, Kara laughed and dropped Oliver almost like a bomb on the criminals. She decided to let him have this one, knowing he had some things to get out of his system. Kara would've taken a few of the robbers, but she was still in such a state of euphoria around Lena’s vindication that she found there was almost no need. If they had larger guns or a getaway van, she would step in, but for the time being she hovered nearby for intimidation and watched Oliver work, prepared to stop him if he went too far. It was mesmerizing, really, watching him go. She'd encountered some pretty impressive fighters during her time as Supergirl, but Oliver’s... _ grace,  _ control, and indescribable omniscience of the battle field made him seem like something else entirely—which he was. 

They dropped the robbers—tied up—at the police station before the sun rose, as Oliver insisted. He called them ‘gifts,’ which made Kara laugh. She thought about some criminal jumping out of a present for Maggie on her birthday. 

“‘Kay, look, there's the sun,” Kara said, sounding disappointed. She'd been enjoying her time fighting crime with Oliver, even though it was mostly just Kara dropping, spinning, and picking up Oliver as he did parkour on the rooftops. She threw him up into the air again as if to show him the growing light. “Are you sure you don't want to stay out with me?” she asked as she caught him.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Oliver responded, still fighting off adrenaline from his ‘flight.’ “Besides, L-Corp opens at eight, and I'm assuming you'll be there as soon as you can.” Kara blushed a little. “I'm really glad she's free, Kara. This is finally just.”

“Most of the city doesn't see it that way…” Kara lowered them both to the ground dejectedly.

Oliver put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you don't know that.”

“Yes, I do. People believe what they want to. People like James, like J’onn, like Maggie…” Kara drifted off. “I'm really glad you're here, you know. You're—you're rational, you're unprejudiced, you're...frankly, you're awesome. I hardly know you, but I trust you. Implicitly. Thank you for that.”

Oliver didn't look like he knew quite how to respond. “I——you too! I mean—you listen to me, you confide in me, you  _ defend  _ me, you...you make me feel like a person. Like a—an—undamaged, a  _ solvable  _ person, and there aren't words I can use to—” Oliver clamped his jaw shut tight when he realized how much he may have shared. It was okay to talk to Kara, that much Oliver knew. He also knew that Kara deserved an unfashionable amount of appreciation, but he felt as if he was focusing too much on himself. Kara obviously had many problems of her own to deal with, and Oliver was beginning to understand that. He didn't want to...burden her…

“Thank you, Oliver,” Kara said sincerely. She recognized his attempt to convey emotion. “Alright...I'll take you to the D.E.O.? There's more to do there.” 

 Oliver nodded, but he knew he wouldn't be sparring with the D.E.O. operatives anytime soon.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Life is time-consuming (it's annoying)
> 
> PLEASE HEED THE NEW TAG

“It's a good article,” Lena said as she and Kara walked through the doors to Lena’s office. Lena had seen Kara in the lobby and instantly decided to accompany her up. “You flatter me.”

Lena was referencing the article that Kara had written and published the night before, explaining the story of Lena’s innocence. It hadn't taken much time to write, considering Kara had spent the last couple days arguing for Lena.

“I only wrote the truth. I'm learning to keep digging even when all the evidence points one way. There's always another side, even when it's hard to find.  _ Especially  _ when it's hard to find,” Kara said, sitting down on the white couch.

“So...my office is overflowing with flowers,” Lena said, unable to hide her smile.

“Really?” Kara pretended not to know what Lena was talking about, but knew Lena could see right through her

“You didn't have to do that.” Lena looked down.

“Yeah, I did.”

“That—that man with the bow, he told me that it was you who sent him. I don't know how to thank you.” Lena joined Kara on the couch, resting against the back with a hand in her hair.  She gazed fondly down at Kara, who could've sworn Lena was blushing.

“He's called the Arrow, and...well, that's what friends are for,” said Kara. Somehow the word ‘friends’ wasn't conveying as much as Kara wanted it to.

“I've never had friends like you before,” Lena said. 

So...was Kara a best friend, finally an honest friend, or something else? Perhaps...more than a friend. Kara kept thinking on this, but didn't want to give herself credit for more of Lena’s affection than she actually had.

“Come to think of it, I've never had  _ family _ like you,” Lena continued.

Still, Kara didn't want to read into what Lena was saying too much. But still, she was so proud and so happy that Lena had come to think of her as family. But the Luthors held a pretty low bar…

“No one has ever stood up for me like that,” Lena said. Kara almost couldn't take the gaze Lena was holding her under. Lena had...really beautiful eyes. Beautiful face, beautiful spirit, beautiful everything. The idea that Lena appreciated Kara so much was almost overwhelming for the Kryptonian.

“Well, now you have someone that will stand up for you. Always,” Kara managed. It was probably the most...concise...of her thoughts.

“You know, ‘the Arrow’ may have saved me...but Supergirl is my hero,” Lena said, watching Kara closely.

Kara started to blush but caught herself because...what?...

Kara cocked her head, trying to look confused. “I—okay. But, I, uh—I don't know what Supergirl has to do with this.”

“Supergirl has everything to do with this,” Lena said. 

All of a sudden, Kara realized how close she was to Lena. She could see Lena’s eyelashes fluttering closed, her flushed cheeks; she could smell Lena’s perfume, feel her breath on her cheek—

 

++++++

 

Oliver had refused any and every offer of training or sparring from anyone at the D.E.O.. He'd found a far-off training area in the lower levels, and he'd figured by the broken minds of cement and dented metal that this was where Kara, or else J’onn, trained. He doubted anyone would come looking for him there.

The night before, with Corben, he'd gotten a taste of what it felt like to perhaps give in to his desire to kill. But what he didn't get was...well, relief. Whether this was because Corben wasn't really alive in the first place or because his death simply wasn't enough to satisfy, Oliver didn't know. What he did know, however, was that since that night the bloodlust had gotten much, much worse. It had taken all of his self-control not to kill the robbers that morning. He'd even found himself pretending that he'd killed them just to not return to their incompacitated forms and finish it. The reason he'd refrained was...well, Kara. He didn't want to lose her friendship, because she was probably the only one who could help him.

Oliver sighed and looked around the room; he needed an outlet.

Quickly he found a post with poles sticking out of it, much like the ones he used back home. This one was metal, though, and therefore much harder. He'd probably hurt his knuckles if he started using it, but calling upon his further judgement, Oliver found that he just didn't care. Maybe it was even good; maybe it would keep him from striking people.

Oliver started his routine, picking up the pace as he went on. He'd started out rather delicately, pulling his punches, but when he found it wouldn't hurt as bad as it could, he punched harder and harder. He felt his forearms turn red and watched as the skin on his knuckles broke. He wasn't sure exactly why, but the more marks that appeared on his skin the more  _ right  _ he felt. All that his guts told him to do was to maim and to kill, and somehow, the bruises and cuts on his arms from punching seemed to show that.

He paused as he saw blood from his knuckles start to drip, and caught the droplets on the sleeve of his black D.E.O. shirt, where it wouldn't show. He realized then, as the blood stopped dripping and started to coagulate, that what he was doing wasn't enough.

_ “Hey, uh, Kara?” _

 Oliver froze. James.

Oliver could hear footsteps start to descend, so he quickly shelled in front of the training post and clasped his hands behind his back.

“Kara’s out,” Oliver said.

James seemed surprised by the low voice. “Oliver?! What are you doing down here?”

“Just...training,” Oliver said, turning slightly to hide a bit more as James approached.

“This is—” James laughed humorlessly “—this is where Kara trains.”

The way James said what he did made Oliver worry. Was he not allowed in here? The door wasn't locked. “Would she—does she mind?”

“Not if it's you…”

“What do you mean?”

James scoffed. “What makes you so much better than me?”

“I'm—I'm not—well, absolutely nothing.” Oliver was really worried now; he didn't want to get into an argument—which could lead to a fight.

“Then what does Kara see in you?!”

Oliver didn't know how to respond, so he didn't even try. He looked anywhere but James’s eyes.

“Sorry, that—that came out wrong. I just—I heard her tell you, after our argument, that she trusts you. I'm one of her greatest friends and I'm really having a hard time understanding what I've done so wrong not to earn that trust as well.” James sighed. 

“Look,” Oliver said. “Kara’s helping me through something right now. Something that she kinda needs to stick close to me for.”

“Oh. Are—are you okay?”

“Are any of us?”

James chuckled. “Fair point.”

The two men stood in silence for a moment, James looking around the room like he'd never been in it before while Oliver silently willed him to leave.

“Hey, this might seem a little random but...can you train me? Teach me how to fight like you, track down bad guys? I think—uh—Kara would feel a lot better if she knew that I can, you know, take care of myself.”

Still, Oliver couldn't meet James’ eyes. “No.”

“Well, why not?” James advanced and Oliver reflexively took a small step backward and moved his hands in front of his body to protect himself.

_ Because I'd hurt you.  _ “I just can't.”

“So you---what happened to your hands?”

“My---” Oliver looked down at his bloodied hands. “Oh. Kara and I, this morning, took out some robbers. My hands are fine.”

“I---I think you should get them checked out. That doesn’t look good.”

“Alex said she’d bandage them later; that it’s not to bad.”

“But---”

“Thank you...for your concern...but I’m fine,” Oliver said. He tried to switch the topic back to what it had been before, which was surprisingly less uncomfortable. “I’m sorry I can’t train you. Truly. If I could, I would.”

James drew a deep breath and left.

 

++++++

 

“Alex! Alex! Oliver! Alex! Oliver! Oliver! Oli---Aleeexx!” Kara zoomed into the D.E.O. from the open balcony, face made up by various shades of pink. She skidded to a halt when she found her sister, who looked concerned.

“Kara? Is everything alright?” Alex asked. The Kryptonian was grinning almost maniacally, but still seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“Uh...I'll tell you later.” She offered a confused grin and walked away. “Hey, where’s Oliver?” she asked no one in particular.

“Down in your training room…” came an annoyed voice from nearby. 

“Oh, hey, James! Thanks!” Kara ran off again; James sighed dejectedly.

Once she was sure that the door had closed soundly behind, Kara sped down the stairs to meet Oliver. 

“Hey—what happened? You look...um…” Oliver said. 

“Okay: so I went over to Lena's, we had a bit of a heart-to-heart…and she said she knows I'm Supergirl,” Kara explained rapidly.

“Oh.” Oliver crossed his arms to better hide his hands, although he'd cleaned them and the post by then. “Well...what does she think?”

“She...mmmMMHHHH.” 

Oliver raised an eyebrow, a silent ‘well, out with it.’

“MMGAHHmmmshewasgoingtokissme!” Kara let out a giant breath and clutched her hands at her sides as she waited for Oliver’s response.

“Well, that's great, right?” Oliver laughed. Kara shook her head. “No? Why not?”

“Of course it's great! But I—well I ran away...because...uh…”

“Because you were afraid?”

“Of Lena? Never. But...yeah.” Kara leaned against the cement wall beneath the stairs. “I guess it felt...surreal. I didn't want to mess everything up. I mean—what if I was reading cues wrong, or she'd later decide that she made a mistake?”

“Well, do you trust her?” Oliver asked.

“Yes! Yes, of course I trust her.”

“Then trust her on this, if it’s what you want. And trust yourself.”

“But I think I might have messed it all up already: I ran. What she must've thought…” Kara scrunched her eyes closed, as if chasing away terrible ideas.

“I think that’s easily explained. Just tell her what you just told me. It shows that you care,” Oliver said, as if it were simple. 

Kara blinked; mens’ views of relationships seemed so much less complex. But Kara knew that Lena would be understanding, and so decided to take Oliver's advice. She was going to start a healthy, honest, (romantic) relationship with Lena, because she really, really wanted one. She just had to hope that Lena still felt the same.

Kara nodded. “Okay.”

“Now you know she knows you're Supergirl, can't you just...rocket...back to her office?” Oliver offered.

“No. She’ll have another client by now.”

“Hmm. How about you text her as soon as you can and arrange sometime to meet?”

“Yeah, okay. She has a lunch break at 11:45, so I'll text her just a bit after that and maybe we can get dinner?”

 “That sounds like a good p.o.a..”

Kara smiled. “Until then...um...we’re down here, so you wanna train?”

“Absolutely.”

 

They started training with Oliver showing Kara some fighting moves. Kara suggested that they use the room that would drain her of her powers, but Oliver admitted that that would probably be dangerous for her given his condition. 

“Here, how about you really try these out?” Oliver said, clearly offering himself.

“I'll hurt you.”

“Well, I'm not going to make it easy, and you're not going to punch me hard. This isn't a matter of strength.”

Oliver hadn't lied; he didn't make it easy for her. It was hard enough just to come into contact with his body, let alone throw him around, and she was a decent fighter even without her powers. But she did manage to carry out each of the new moves, some more than once. 

After that, they just sparred good-naturedly. Kara let him practice a few things on her that would harm humans and not her, which he seemed to enjoy. It was good fun.

 

…until it wasn't.

Kara wasn't entirely sure when the change occurred, but she suddenly noticed that what they were doing wasn't play anymore. Oliver had become more aggressive, putting enough power into his strikes against Kara to go far beyond what would hurt. His eyes seemed to have darkened, and his expression had lost all of its mirth.

“Oliver—” she quickly grabbed both of his arms to hold him in place, and ignored his attempts to kick and knee her. “Oliver, what's happening?!”

Oliver snarled and head-butted her in the nose, seemingly unaware when he started to bleed from his hairline. Kara spun her friend around and held him tightly around the middle with his arms pressed to his sides. Oliver squirmed as Kara tried to hold him still. She  _ really  _ hoped she wasn't hurting him…

“Oliver, hey! Do you—do you know where you are?!” 

She got no response from Oliver other than a growl and a scream. Kara would be lying if she said she wasn't starting to panic. Big time. 

Kara breathed a sigh of relief when Oliver started to stop fighting her, assuming that he’d...calmed down...or whatever. He started leaning on her more and more so she lowered him to his knees, keeping a hand on his shoulder, but as she pulled away she felt something wet on her stomach. She looked down and suddenly felt dizzy; there was blood. Blood everywhere.

“Oliver...Rao...Oliver!” Oliver was swaying on his hunches, eyes unfocused. Where—where was he bleeding? He was wearing all black, she couldn't tell...

He groaned weakly. “...K...kaarr….a…” 

She knelt in front of him. “You're...I'm going to get you upstairs, okay?”

Oliver didn't seem to understand what she was saying. His eyes grew wide when he saw the blood on Kara’s front. “N---n---I’m s...orry---I didn’t me-ean...h--who d-did I...hurt…?”

“No. Oliver, it’s fine, you---you didn’t hurt anyone! You---” Oliver went limp, slumping forward into her arms. “OLIVER!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehehe


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so so sorry for the looonngg wait. I had a frankly unreasonable amount of school work and then I went on a vacation (which was awesome). But I finally made myself finish this chapter on the flight home!

Kara backed away from the scene in front of her, feeling lightheaded and dull as if it were her who had lost all that blood. She didn’t like blood.

 

It was very rare that Kara would find herself in a position where she even  _ could  _ bleed, and those situations were terrifying; she was so  _ fragile,  _ just like everyone else. Like Oliver, like James, like all of them. She could  _ break.  _

 

She found herself needing to sit down while the medical team worked on Oliver’s prone body, which she had quickly brought up to the medbay. She felt the need to stay nearby, but couldn’t bring herself to watch. She felt sick.

 

“Kara? You alright?” Alex approached and sat on the bench next to cara. She’d shed her rubber gloves and let the proper medics do their work.

 

“I hurt him, didn’t I.” Kara looked down.

 

“It’s possible...but very unlikely.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Were you two training with knives? Or...swords?” Alex asked, sounding confused herself.

 

Kara looked blankly, wondering where on Earth or space Alex was coming from. “Uh...no.”

 

“Didn’t think so.”

 

“Why’d you ask?”

 

“Well, Oliver’s has a few lacerations on his side and back from what would seem to be some sort of sword. How closely were you watching him this morning? I heard you two took down a robbery,” Alex said, watching Kara’s face go through various expressions of confusion.

 

“I don't think I'd miss a—uh—sword, no. He seemed fine all morning. I—I don't know how this...will—will he be okay?” Kara fiddled violently with the hem of her skirt.

 

“The wound’s not as bad as it looks, Kara, I promise.” Alex wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders.

 

“Then why'd he collapse?”

 

“From what we can tell, a multitude of reasons. Blood loss, obviously, head trauma, malnutrition, and fatigue,” Alex grimaced as she spoke. “Do you know if he has, uhm, any eating disorders? Anorexia, bulimia? It looks like he’s lost a lot of weight in a short period of time.”

 

“Uh…”

 

Whatever awkward and unclear answer Kara was about to give was interrupted by startled shouts and the sound of something clattering coming from inside the medbay. The women looked over to see chaos and immediately ran in.

 

“What's happening?!” Alex demanded.

 

At first glance, Kara would've thought that Oliver was having some sort of seizure, but then she noticed how coordinated he seemed. Although he was making close to no noise, he was fighting, and the medics seemed to be having trouble holding him down.

 

“Sedate him!” Alex shouted. Kara held Oliver’s shoulders down as he strained against her, and she tried not to look too hard at his fearful eyes. Someone came over with a small syringe and stuck it in Oliver’s arm, and when he went slack Kara couldn't help but be reminded of how he'd collapsed on top of her just over a half-an-hour prior. 

 

There were loud sighs of relief throughout the room, and somehow in the shuffle, Kara was pushed towards the back of the crowd.

 

“Uh...four points!” Alex said, quiet for an order. The occupants of the room scurried around and from some obscure drawer emerged what looked like padded manacles.

 

Kara's eyes widened. “You're not—you're not seriously thinking of putting those on him! _ ”  _ She snatched the restraints from the medic who had been holding them, who backed away from Kara, who just looked scary. “You'll make it worse, Alex!”

 

“Kara, you've seen him. He could hurt someone, or himself. Besides, he'll be asleep for a good hour,” Alex argued, slightly uncomfortable with the idea as well. It wasn't the first time she'd seen this happen with an agent. She reached for the restraints, but Kara pulled them away. “It's what Oliver would want; he doesn't want to hurt anybody.”

 

Kara sighed, remembering what Oliver had said that morning:  _ “don't let me kill anyone.”  _ She loosened her grip on the restraints and let Alex pull them from her hand.

 

“He’ll be fine, Kara.”

 

Kara bit her lip and nodded. All she could do then was wait; she knew she needed something to occupy her mind. She pulled out her phone to text Lena. 

 

_ Want to go to dinner tonight?  _ she typed, and hesitated for a long time before sending it. Kara watched as the dots showed up that indicated Lena was typing, thinking of all the (bad) things that it could turn out to be.

 

_ Yes! There's this ramen place that I'd like to try out. Sound good? _

 

Kara half stifled a squeal.

 

_ Can't wait! What time? _

 

_ Does 7 work for you? _

 

_ Yes.  _

 

Kara finished off the interaction with a thumbs up and a heart emoji. She squirmed around in her seat as she tried to contain the giddy excitement she was feeling.

 

“Not that I’m objecting, but you look...strangely happy...right now,” Alex commented, walking over after having stabilized Oliver’s situation. 

 

“Yeah…” Kara sucked in a breath. “I’ve got a date!”

 

“Oh! Uh...with Mon-El?” Alex couldn’t seem to hide the disgust in her voice. 

 

“No. Ew. With, um, Lena. Lena Luthor.”

 

Many layers of confusion and emotion were visible on Alex’s face. “Kara...you don’t have to prove anything to us,” she finally said.

 

Kara’s eyebrows knitted. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean...Lena Luthor was innocent; you were right, and we were wrong, but we weren’t wrong for acting accordingly based on the evidence we had. We know you have faith in Lena, and that you did the right thing maintaining it. You don't need to...make your point any bolder.”

 

“You think I want to be with Lena because of... _ spite?!”  _ Kara drew a calming breath (that wasn't actually that calming).

 

“Kara…”

 

“No! I just told you about something that really matters to me, and you don't even believe me?! Even after I helped you through your own revelations?! I can't believe you!”

 

“No, it's just…I haven't ever noticed your  _ interest  _ in—”

 

“I go to lunch with her probably twice a week!”

 

“—Women.”

 

“So  _ that’s  _  what this is about?  _ You  _ recognized  _ your own _ feelings just  _ months  _ ago!”

 

“That's not what I meant. I just want to make sure that you're... _ sure... _ about this.”

 

“I am.” Kara turned away and started to walk towards the medbay. 

 

“Kara, wait…” Alex put a gentle hand on Kara’s elbow. Kara turned and glared. “I believe you.” Alex smiled, actually getting quite excited for her sister. Kara turned away again and kept walking. 

“Kara!”

 

Kara whipped around. “I am  _ trying _ to check on my friend.” 

 

Hearing the force behind Kara’s voice, Alex had the sense to back off. Her own temper was rising, but she didn't want to make the situation any worse. 

 

Kara strode briskly away but slowed down significantly when she reached the medbay. Seeing her enter, a small female medic left the area. Kara approached Oliver’s bedside and looked down at him. They say that people look younger when they're asleep, and peaceful. Oliver didn't. He looked young, yes, but still vaguely uncomfortable. It could have to do with the feeding tube jammed down his throat, or the cuffs binding him to the bed. Perhaps the  _ sword wound  _ on his side… Kara had no idea how that got there, although she did have her suspicions. It hadn't been a problem the night before, but Kara suspected that she never should've let him fight Metallo alone. Oliver was going to have a lot of explaining to do when he woke up.

 

Alex said that he'd passed out partially because of malnutrition, which made sense...but Kara had been making him eat; surely he'd had enough not to  _ collapse.  _ But the more she thought about it, she realized that the last time she'd seen him eat was yesterday morning. She felt like a cold weight had been placed in her gut—she'd been so  _ negligent!  _ Oliver had trusted her to help him, and she'd been so wrapped up in  _ herself  _ and her  _ own  _ concerns that she'd hardly  _ thought  _ about what was happening to Oliver! 

 

With her superpowers, Kara hadn't had to worry about eating for a long time. It wasn't important for her physiology, so she hardly payed attention. She ate only for pleasure, really. It wasn't something she'd naturally remember, much less for another person.

 

Kara swallowed, glad that now Oliver was getting the care he needed...that she herself apparently couldn't provide. 

 

She wondered exactly what caused him to go...well, rabid. She was pretty sure that it was the “bloodlust” that he'd spoken of, but didn't know why it was only now making an appearance. Maybe she'd done something while sparring to make him think he was in a real fight? ...What if he thought she was someone who hurt him and thought he had to defend himself?! What if it wasn't the bloodlust at all?! 

 

The more Kara thought, the more guilt she felt. On some level, she believed at Oliver should take more responsibility in taking care of himself...but then she decided that that thought was her trying to deflect blame away from herself, and felt worse.

 

About twenty minutes into her introspection, Kara heard a knock on he glass wall of the medbay. She turned and saw an anxious-looking Winn. She beckoned him with a nod.

 

“Hey, what—he's injured?! They just finally let me through…” Winn wrung his hands, and for some reason wasn't making eye contact with Kara. She saw him reviewing stats on the screen next to Oliver, but doubted he knew anymore than she did what it meant. Maybe, for Winn, technology was just comforting.

 

“Um...yeah. Sword wound.”

 

“Is it—God, is it bad?”

 

“Alex says it's probably not too serious. There were other factors, apparently…”

 

“Uh...what...other factors?” Winn asked. 

 

Kara blanked her face and stared, as if to express (harshly) that she didn't have to and wasn't going to divulge any information. “Winn...don't take this the wrong way, but you sound, uh...like you're feeling guilty.”

 

“Guilty? Me?!” Winn laughed a bit too much. Kara gave him a look that elicited answers from most everyone. Winn sighed. “I don't know. He—uh—he turned his comm off for about fifteen minutes last night. I suppose if he somehow procured a, uh, sword wound then it would've been then? I don't know. I don't think there was anyone to fight, but...that's—it's possible that something...happened?”

 

Kara hardly tried to process Winn’s ramble, especially after getting stuck on one of the first things he said. “Hold on: last night?!”

 

“Mmhmm— _ shoot _ . Yeah, I—I wasn't supposed to tell you that.”

 

_ “Elaborate.” _

 

“Eeehh... _ uhhhh… _ ” Winn looked anxiously between Kara and Oliver.

 

“Winn, I'm supposed to be helping him;  _ you tell me right now.”  _ Kara wasn't angry with Winn. Frankly, she was angry with herself. How could she have let  _ anything  _ like this happen?!

 

“He wanted to—er—tour the city, last night. I offered to be his...tech support. We didn't really find anything.”

 

“Then why were you worried that something had happened?”

 

“I...I don't know. I heard that a sword injury couldn't be accounted for so I guess I thought it could've happened.”

 

Kara sighed and ran a hand down her face. “Okay—you're not doing that again. Not at night, and not unless I'm with him.” Winn nodded rather enthusiastically.

 

“Thank you,” Kara said. She pursed her lips and stared at some random point beyond Oliver’s bed.

 

“Would you like me to...um…” Winn said after a moment of silence. nodding to the door.

 

“Yes—yes please.” Kara nodded him away with an appreciative look.

 

So...not only was she responsible for Oliver's malnutrition, she was responsible for his fatigue as well. She pulled up a fold-out chair and set it next to Oliver, sinking down into it. She considered taking his hand in hers to show  _ some  _ sort of support, but instead rested it on the side of the bed. He probably didn't want that.

 

“I'm so sorry, Oliver…” she whispered.

 

 

Oliver awoke only ten minutes later, apparently having fought the sedative. He sputtered and coughed, violently trying to eject the feeding tube. The medics rushed in—Alex not included, having apparently gone off—and as they removed the tube, Oliver seemed to notice his restraints. He strained against them for a moment, choking out a word that could've been  _ “dig,”  _ before relaxing back into the bed. 

 

What did he do. What did he  _ DO  _ to be restrained?! Oliver couldn't remember anything—nothing after sparring with Kara. A million scenarios ran through his head, each more bloody than the last. He fought the rising panic in his throat, afraid it would make him even  _ more  _ violent. 

 

Oliver shrunk away from a cool hand on his shoulder. In his new position, he saw an I.V. In his wrist, which was either to help him or impair him, and he didn't want either. He didn't know what he wanted, but he was pretty sure he had to get away. 

 

He lurched forward and bent over in an attempt to pull the I.V. out with his teeth, but didn't even get close. The grip on his shoulder tightened and he was thrown back against the pillow. His vision swam with the head rush this caused. 

 

_ “Oliver, what are you doing? You'll pull a stitch!”  _ he heard, or thought he heard. Who was that?  _ Lau...rel?  _ No. Oh!

 

“Kara?!” Oliver gasped. His throat  _ burned _ .

 

“Yes. Here.” A plastic cup of room temperature water was pushed to his lips, but Oliver turned his head away.

 

“Release me,” he said, not meeting Kara's gaze. He looked about the room, noting how the two medics were standing as far away from him as they could without arousing suspicion. Well, anyone  _ else's  _ suspicion.

 

“Oliver...I don't know if I can do that,” Kara said softly. 

 

Oliver turned and looked Kara in the eye. Intently. 

 

_ “Release me,” _ he practically growled, before fixing his tone. “Please. I won't hurt anyone again. You won't let me.”

 

When Kara reached for the restraints the medics sighed and left the room.

 

“How do you still trust me?” Kara asked quietly. She tried to undo Oliver’s  _ manacles  _ as quickly as she could, now frustrated that she'd allowed them to be put into use when Oliver was clearly bothered by it.

 

Oliver looked confused as he downed the cup of water in one gulp. “What's not to trust?” 

 

“Oliver! You're hospitalized!” Kara took the empty cup from him and refilled it, spilling water over the side as her hands shook.

 

“How is that your fault?! Whatever happened, it was self-defense.” Clearly, Oliver thought, he'd attacked someone and they'd fought him off, injuring him. 

 

“I am—I am  _ so  _ sorry to have put you in that position,” Kara’s voice cracked slightly. She felt as if her suspicions of having triggered something during their sparring session were being confirmed. 

 

“Kara, you didn't do anything! Don't say sorry.” Oliver’s voice was raising. He wanted to get to the point: what had he done!

 

“No! I'll be as sorry as I should be! I was supposed to look after you, but no! You haven't been eating;  _ sleeping,  _ apparently, and then  _ somehow  _ I let you get inju—”

 

“Kara, DID I HURT SOMEONE?!” Oliver demanded, hands balled into fists although he didn't know what he was fighting.

 

“Huh? What, of course not! Oliver,  _ you _ are the one who was hurt!”

 

Oliver almost didn't process what he'd heard, having been trying to formulate his next sentence as Kara spoke, anticipating her answer. “I…” his eyes moved from side to side. “What.”

 

“You collapsed, sparring with me,” Kara explained, befuddled by his apparent confusion. “You were bleeding, profusely. Apparently, though, it also had to do with lack of sleep and food…”

 

While he wanted more clarification on just  _ what  _ exactly had happened to him, it was important that he made something clear with Kara. “Kara, none of that is your fault;  _ none  _ of that is your  _ responsibility!” _

 

“It  _ is though!”  _ This came out as almost a sob from Kara, and she quickly tried to compose herself. She covered her eyes with her hands, as if to hide.

 

Shakily, Oliver reached up with a hand (considering pulling out his I.V. as he did so, and deciding against it) and gently pulled one of Kara's hands away from her face.

 

“Kara, I wasn't taking care of myself. That's on me.”

 

“ _ No _ . It's…it's on Ra’s Al Ghul and whoever else hurt you.”

 

“Not you.”

 

“Not you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the thing with Alex. She WILL be more supportive in the future!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update at last! School is ending and I really had to push through the last assignments and tests, so I didn't get to writing much. Hopefully over the summer I'll be able to update more frequently.
> 
> WARNING: Suicidal-ish thoughts, and an episode of panic/dissociation/flashbacks. PLEASE BE CAREFUL READING.

“So what's wrong with me? Well...physically,” Oliver asked after a moment.

 

“Well... _ apparently,  _ you have some sort of sword wound on your side. I'm guessing you can feel it. No one has any idea where it came from,” Kara explained, trying to prompt an answer. Oliver stared hard at something behind Kara, and she almost turned to look to see what it was.

 

“Yeah, uh—” he cleared his throat, “that—that was…”

 

Kara raised an eyebrow. 

 

“That was the first—well not the  _ first— _ wound that Ra’s gave me. To heal.” Oliver wouldn't meet her eye, like he had something to be ashamed of.

 

“Oh.” Kara said.  _ Wait.  _ “Huh?”

 

“I don't—I don't know.”

 

“So, it reopened?”

 

“I guess, but it was completely sealed…”

 

“Still a mystery then?”

 

“Yeah, I suppose.”

 

Kara groaned. “And you're sure this is from Ra’s? Not whatever you were doing with Winn last night.”

 

Oliver nodded.

 

“I thought you were sleeping, Oliver.” Kara sounded disappointed, which stung Oliver’s heart. “I didn't hear you, so I was happy you weren't having nightmares.”

 

“I couldn't. I'm sorry.”

 

++++++

 

After 3-4 hours of insistence from Oliver, he was “discharged” to go home with Kara. Alex was accompanying them to make sure Oliver got situated. Despite saying nothing, Kara was letting it known through glares and sighs that she did not appreciate Alex’s presence. Alex could be seen trying to approach Kara to speak to her, but Kara always something to be doing or an excuse to move away. 

 

_ “Kara,”  _ Oliver said under his breath as she passed by him. He was lying on the couch; Alex said he needed to take it easy. Kara looked down at him, prepared to satisfy basically any request. “What's going on with you and Alex?” he whispered.

 

Kara huffed and crouched down, looking about for Alex, who seemed to be looking for something in the closet. Kara almost hissed  _ “nothing!”  _ to Oliver, but bit her lip; that wouldn't get her anywhere, and she didn't like how things were with her sister. She'd expected Alex to be supportive, but had before forgotten to factor in Alex’s standing opinions on Lena. “She thinks I’m going out with Lena just to make a point; that I’m not really interested in her,” Kara whispered, fisting a pillow that had fallen off the couch. 

 

“Well, it looks like she’s got something to say,” Oliver whispered back, eying Alex, who with context looked regretful.

 

“I don’t know if I want to hear it,” Kara said resolutely, subconsciously aware that she was probably just being stubborn.

 

“You don’t need to believe everything she says, just hear her out so you can work of all the facts,” Oliver reasoned, almost certain that Alex would be forgiven; he was familiar with the incredulous older sibling role, and knew that Alex probably had a reason for doing whatever it was she did. Though he, too, had started to grow nettled by everyone’s relatively unwarranted suspicion of Lena, he could see where the doubt, stemming from that prejudice, grew. 

 

Kara had not yet responded when Alex approached once more with a plastic bucket from the closet.

 

“You’ve got a bit of head trauma, which can make you nauseous,” Alex explained. She knelt down in place of where Kara had been, and checked Oliver’s eyes once more with a small flashlight. “None too bad though. Definitely not the worst of your problems…” Alex seemed to be expecting an explanation for his injury, as she had been for hours. 

 

Oliver didn’t want to discredit himself with a lie or guess, and gave no answer.

 

Alex looked frustrated at this, but was coming to accept that she’s probably not receive an answer. As a agent, she was accustomed to the secrecy amongst her co-workers, so it didn’t bother her as much as it could’ve.   “We’re going to leave the I.V. hooked up for the time being, but don’t worry about refilling it. While I’m here, though…” Alex looked rather awkward. “I thought we should address your mental health. Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness?”

 

“You’re not my psychologist.”

 

Kara groaned and then inwardly slapped herself when she realized she’d hoped Alex would force  _ something  _ that would make Oliver’s---and her own---time easier.

 

“Right.” Alex looked noticeably peeved, but not exactly angry. She’d seen many people not admit to things such as these, like not acknowledging them would somehow make them untrue. However, Oliver’s reflexive defensiveness as well as confirmed her hypothesis of an underlying mental condition. 

 

“Kara?” Alex asked, sensing that her sister was lost in thought and that it would be harder for Kara to push her away.

 

“Yeah?” Kara answered before considering her actions.

 

“Do you know what you’re going to wear on your date?”

 

Kara scoffed; Oliver sent her a look which told her to look into this further. Kara shook her head, “no…?”

 

“Do you want help?”

 

Kara was about to refuse, but caught Oliver’s eye once more. “Sure. Whatever.” She followed a hopeful Alex into her room, where they shut the door. Oliver allowed himself a small smile.

  
  


“For whatever reason, I was looking for gauze in here,” Alex laughed. She pulled a purple dress with white trim out of the closet. “This fit the scene? Where are you going?”

 

When Alex turned around, she saw Kara glaring. “Ramen,” Kara mumbled. “Lena picked.” She looked down.

 

“Kara…” Alex said carefully, “I really am sorry for what I said earlier. If I'm right, this is the first real relationship you've had with another woman, and I just—I just wanted to make sure you aren't throwing your heart around. Like I did. With Maggie.”

 

“Yeah, because that worked out horribly,” Kara said, slightly annoyed when she had felt her heart leap at Alex’s words; she was supposed to be mad.

 

“Well...maybe Lena isn't Maggie,” Alex said. Kara rose angrily. “—But obviously, you're a much better judge of Lena’s character than I am. I think you'll make the best decision for yourself.”

 

Kara exhaled. “Lena’s not one to dress down to go out to dinner. I'll wear that dress. Nice pick.” Kara gave a thin smile and took the dress from Alex, who inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

 

“I'll do your hair?”

 

++++++

 

Oliver was actually relieved when Alex and Kara left into her room together, and not just because they were probably going to work out their issues. He had issues of his own to assess. 

 

He knew for sure that his wound was from Ra's, but it hadn't “naturally” reopened. This had to do with the fact that he hadn't killed anyone, or anyone with a real life. Apparently, Metallo wasn't enough.

 

Oliver was not about to give in to his urges and go on a murder spree. Sometimes, though, he just saw red; saw energy, instead of people. Energy he needed. Their deaths would give him life, because he only had a half-life, lacking spirit. It wasn't greed that would drive him, though. It was instinct, self-preservation; something he couldn't fight. 

 

The pain in his side made everything real. The feeling itself brought back memories that Oliver tried hard not to focus on, but what it really meant was that there would be consequences despite anything he tried to do. If he didn't kill, eventually he would die.

 

Maybe that was good.

 

Maybe it would be better if he wasn't there to pose a danger to anyone. His whole life, he'd don't nothing but bring pain to those he knew. Now he might do it even “deliberately.” Living was difficult anyways: not being able to make himself eat, not being able to be around those he cared about. He couldn't save people anymore, not while wanting to hurt them simultaneously. He was a burden, nothing more. 

 

But he couldn't let go just yet. He had too many loose ends.

 

He needed Diggle to know that he was sorry, and to somehow make him know that Oliver  _ wasn't  _ entirely responsible for his actions.

 

He needed Felicity to know that he loved her, but that she could do better than him. She'd be happier with someone else.

 

And Thea...god,  _ THEA! _

 

She had the bloodlust, too. She'd need to kill, too!  _ Her wounds would return, too!— _

 

And her wounds would be fatal.

 

Oliver shot up from the couch, stumbling too his knees when a shot of pain ran through the cut on his back. He knew it was deep but the pain seemed to run to his core. He fumbled over to his bag, which lay by the window, feeling through it for his phone which he hadn't had occasion to use the past few days.

 

Once he had a hold on it, he speed-dialed Diggle with his phone, as he'd become accustomed to doing discretely as the Green Arrow, or when he needed cover as Oliver Queen. Al Sahim wasn't included in their friendship, and never would be. 

 

Oliver growled in frustration when he found he had no reception, but he wasn't surprised. Kara must've had something done so that she could communicate. She'd brought up Skype…

 

Oliver scanned the room for Kara's computer, but didn't find it immediately. He forced himself to stand up and run over to the door of Kara's bedroom. 

 

“Kara!” Oliver banged on the door.

 

_ “Mmhmm?”  _

 

Oliver could hear the fan in in the bathroom.

 

“I need your computer!”

 

_ “What for?” _

 

“To call home!!”

 

_ “Really?”  _ she sounded excited.  _ “Okay, just a sec.” _

 

“No, no a ‘sec’! My sister might be in danger!”

 

The door was open in less than a second, Kara appearing with one side of her hair partially fishtail-braided. “What's happening?” she asked, clearly concerned. 

 

“The cut on my back is one that Ra’s healed. We saved Thea’s life using the same magic, and no doubt she’s harmed no one,” Oliver explained.

 

“You think her injuries will reappear?”

 

Oliver just made a small noise and nodded, trying to see straight. 

 

“Well, what are we going to do if we go there?” Kara asked, worrying what would happen to Oliver if he tried to jump dimensions with a head injury.

 

Alex entered, folding her arms. “Hey, what's going on?” 

 

“Not now, Alex,” Kara said. She addressed Oliver again, although he didn't seem to be listening: “but she wasn't healed as much as you were, right? Maybe it's the build up that affected you; misusing the power.”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Oliver, you’re shaking,” Alex said, cautiously taking a step forward. 

 

“I...right…” Oliver lowered himself onto one of Kara’s dining chairs. He'd be useless unless he managed to ground himself.

 

“Okay, we’ll call and check in?” Kara suggested. “We don't know that there's immediate danger.”

Oliver bit his lip and hummed; Kara went back into her room to get her phone. Alex followed.

 

“Kara, what's going on with him?” Alex asked under her breath.

 

“I'm sorry, Alex, but I don't think I can tell you. It's personal for him. Actually...you should probably leave,” Kara whispered.

 

Alex still looked confused, understandably. “Oh, okay.”

 

“I—sorry. Thank you for your help today. I'm, um, I'm sorry for the way I reacted, earlier,” Kara said. Really, she wasn't, not entirely. However, she felt bad kicking Alex out and hoped that this would make up for it in a way. Still, she was glad for an excuse to get Alex away from her, even in the reason was one less than favorable. She still wasn't sure how to feel about Alex’s support, or if it  _ was  _ indeed genuine. She wanted an ally, and Oliver was filling the job nicely, but it would be nice to have someone who understood a bit more.

 

“No, no, it's fine. I get it…” Alex shook her head and smiled slightly “...sort of.”

 

“Heh. Alright, byyeee.” Kara wiggled her fingers.

 

“Bye,” Alex hurried out, grabbing her bag by the door.

 

“Thank you,” Oliver said. “That was humiliating…”

 

“Don't worry about it, although you probably will. Alex has seen me through a number of panic attacks; she gets it. Who am I calling? Barry sent me a whole bunch of contacts a bit ago.”

 

“Do you have Thea? And I am  _ not  _ having a panic attack.”

 

Kara looked up at him a bit while she scrolled through the contacts, finally finding ‘Thea Queen.’ “Well, you look like you could be close to one then.”

 

Oliver couldn't argue.

 

“Here, I found her. You ready?”

 

Oliver took a breath and nodded. Kara pressed the contact and handed the phone to Oliver.

 

The phone let out a few tones, and Kara could see Oliver’s anxiety increase with every one, each more agonizing than the one before. Finally, when Oliver’s face was as pale as the whites of his eyes, Thea answered. 

 

_ “Hello?” _

 

Oliver scrunched his eyes closed for a second. “Thea. Thank god…” he breathed. 

 

_ “Ollie? Wha—” _

 

“Thea, are you alright?!”

 

_ “Yeah, of course, except I'm worried sick about you! What happened? You just ran off!!” _

 

“I—I just...Ra’s did something to me, I don't...I…” Oliver sounded choked all of a sudden, enough to cause alarm for Kara. There was silence for a few moments as Oliver tried to speak.

 

_ “Ollie? Are you still there?” _

 

“Yes, I—can you promise to check in at the hospital? Every day? If you feel that  _ anything  _ is wrong, you get a  _ stomach ache,  _ you go over there, okay?”

 

Thea blindly agreed.  _ “Why? What's wrong?” _

 

“Your wound. It could reappear if you don't give in to the bloodlust you feel.”

 

_ “The—how do you even know about that? I can handle it, honestly…” _

 

“I know. And that will kill you. Look: you find anyone who’s bad, you kill them. Hell, kill Malcom!”

 

_ “No.” _

 

“Speedy...you're too good.” Oliver let out an exasperated noise, or maybe even one of despair.

 

_ “You have it too, don't you! Ra’s—that's what he did! That's how he did it!” _

 

Oliver chuckled humorlessly and practically whispered “part of it.”

 

_ “Ollie...come back. Come home.” _

 

Oliver's expression conveyed almost nothing, but Kara could see the thin trail of a tear that had fallen glinting on his cheek. She put a careful hand on his shoulder, and Oliver tried to give her an appreciative look, but it ended up looking more like a grimace.

 

“No,” Oliver said firmly.

 

Thea could distantly be heard sighing.  _ “When  _ will  _ you come home?” _

 

Oliver couldn't seem to find an answer. “I love you, Speedy.” He hung up.

 

Oliver buried his face in his hands, possibly to hide his expressions. He couldn't shake the feeling that that would've just been his last conversation he'd ever have with his sister. “Diggle now,” he said, still not showing his eyes. His voice sounded thick, and he felt like he was choking.

 

“You...sure?” Kara changed her grip on his shoulder in hopes of encouraging him to sit up. “Oliver, look at me,” she said. Oliver didn't, if anything burying himself deeper. “Thea’s fine, for now. There's no reason you have to do this now.”

 

Oliver grunted.

 

“You did good, Oliver.” Kara tried to take her phone back but felt Oliver’s grip harden around it.

 

“No. I’m doing this, Kara.”  _ I don’t have much longer. _

 

Kara tried hard to read Oliver’s expression, but all she was able to perceive was distress. His breathing seemed more  _ controlled  _ than it should, with Oliver trying to draw out his rather shallow breaths, making him sound shuddery. That and his hands still twitching despite his white-knuckled grip on her phone and on the side of his chair gave the impression that he could flee at any moment. 

 

“I don’t think that’s the best idea. Give yourself five minutes, and I think you’ll be able to think more clearly…“

  
  
  


Oliver was already scrolling back up the contacts to find Diggle. He needed to get this done with, otherwise Oliver would die with his best friend hating him, and no one to watch over his little sister. 

 

And then…then he’d call Felicity. He’d tell her—god, what would he even say?  _ “I can’t be with you because I’d probably kill you if I got the chance…?”   _ She’d be trusting. She’d think that he’d never do anything to hurt her. “ _ Look what I did to Diggle!” _

  
  
  


Oliver was visibly shaking, now.

 

“Oliver,” Kara said firmly.

 

Oliver finally met her eyes with his own wide, bloodshot ones as he pressed on Diggle’s contact.

 

Diggle picked up almost immediately.  _ “Oliver?!”  _

 

So Thea must’ve told him about her call, Oliver figured.

 

“How’s your arm?” Oliver managed to ask Diggle after a moment of taut silence. 

 

_ “Fine,”  _ Digg said shortly.  _ “Healing nicely.” _

 

“I am…so sorry. I’m sorry. I—I  _ swear  _ I wouldn’t’ve, I mean—you have to understand that I—“

 

_“Oliver…stop. Just stop,”_ said Digg gruffly through the phone. Oliver swallowed, anticipating Digg’s words of hate. _“I know that the man I know—my_ brother— _would never have done something like that. Not intentionally. And he’d_ never leave _afterwards.”_

 

Oliver shouldn’t have ever expected forgiveness. If he hadn’t been so  _ susceptible  _ to Ra’s’ magic in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.

 

Still, he needed Digg to know that everything he did to hurt him was a result of weakness, not treachery. 

 

“Digg, I—“

 

“ _ Ra’s changed you.” _

 

“Yes.” Oliver closed his eyes.

 

_ “I just want to help you, man.” _

 

“…What?” Oliver opened his eyes, somehow managing to look confused, yet dead serious at the same time. Kara smiled encouragingly, but Oliver seemed reluctant to return it, still fearing he was misinterpreting somehow.

 

_ “Like I said: you’re my brother. And…you need help. I care about you.” _

 

“...Still?”

 

_ “...ss...at...iver…”  _ unintelligible speech could be heard, until it seemed someone else had control over the phone on the other side of the line.  _ “Oh my god.”  _ Shock and emotion were clear in this person’s voice _. “Oliver!” _

 

Felicity. It was Felicity.

 

Despite actually having planned to talk to her, Oliver was stunned. Frozen in place; too paralyzed to do  _ anything _ \---even attempt stop the overflow of hollowing cold that flooded his body and mind. He’d never be able to talk to Felicity again, would he? This was his last chance, and he couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t even breathe, let alone form words if he ever found them.

 

For a moment Oliver was convinced he was drowning. Heck, of course he was! Had he ever even stopped? He gasped for air only for it to catch in his watery throat. He leaned over so his chest rested on his thighs and tried to cough. This movement caused the pain in his wound to return almost to full force, and he was certain that it’s source was Ra’s looming behind him. He felt something watery pour from his chin and the tip of his nose---must be blood, or else he was finally being pulled from the water...but he couldn’t be! He wasn’t done yet; his back was still agony!

 

Distantly he felt something being removed from his hands. Might be a weapon... _ futile  _ anyways to hold onto it. There were murmurs…somewhere. A woman’s voice. Who was that?

 

There were hands on his shoulders and back which he instantly tried to move away from. How many were there? He tried to count but they were moving too quickly. Somehow he found himself in a sitting position again. There was a light pressure on his back. Probably hands again, inspecting the work done…or perhaps preparing to add more…

 

He tried to get away, stumbling from his…seat? only for his paper legs to give out underneath him. Had his legs been damaged too, now? He could faintly feel the pain from when a cut had trailed all the way from his ankle to around his shoulder, and the longer he focused on it, the more intense the feeling became. He could taste his own blood in the water as he had when this particular set had been healed. He could hear the cries and moans of the dead, which were beginning to be accompanied with the voice of…Felicity.

 

_ No. _

 

“No…no… _ Felicity!”  _ Oliver sobbed, sounding strained due to lack of air. He shouldn't have left. he shouldn’t have left her alone…but he  _ had  _ to. He  _ HAD  _ to! “There was…there was no choice—“

 

_ “Oliver, it’s me. It’s Felicity.” _

 

These words were so much clearer. Had—had he died? Had he joined her? No, she was speaking; she was alive.

 

“Fel—Felicity?”

 

_ “Yes. Yes! I’m here, Oliver. It’s okay. You’re okay. Everything’s fine. You’re safe, alright?” _

 

Oliver chewed on his soundless words. he felt dizzy as the world came back into focus, sometimes getting dimmer and blurrier and…faster.

 

_ “Oliver, can you hear me?”  _ Felicity’s voice asked.

 

“…Yes.” Oliver suddenly found himself becoming incredibly tired and heavy. He felt someone rubbing his back, but gently. Maybe it was Felicity. That would be nice.

 

Wait, no, it couldn’t be Felicity. He was about to talk to her on the phone. He  _ was  _ talking to her on the phone.

 

“ _ You’re safe now, hon. You’re at Kara’s house. You’re healing, remember?” _

 

Oliver nodded slightly as though she could see him.

 

_ “I love you, you know that?” _

 

“Mmmm…” Oliver forgot what it was to protest. “Good…night, Felicity. I—I love…you…”

 

Oliver barely registered something soft being placed under his head before he was engulfed in a buzzing darkness.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I fully intended to get to the SuperCorp date...but things came up. Thanks for hanging in there!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly apologize for how long this has taken me, especially as I had expected to update more frequently over the summer. I've been putting more time into planning a non-fanfiction story of mine. Anyways, I'm about to go on a backpacking trip, so I'll just publish what I have so far. 
> 
> WARNING: panic attack, DISCUSSION OF SUICIDE

Kara didn’t know whether she should be relieved or even more concerned once Oliver lost consciousness. She'd never done anything of the sort during any of her own panic attacks, but she did know that she wasn't human and that Oliver’s situation was pretty different. It seemed to Kara that blacking out would've been a mercy; an escape from something truly  horrible, but she was aware that she wouldn't really know having never experienced it.

 

With feather-light touch she moved Oliver into her own bed (which she changed the sheets in in less than 5 seconds), despite his previous insistence that he would sleep on her couch, because the bed was hers. She covered him with a light blanket and brought the bucket back into the room, unsure of what to do. She watched over him for around ten minutes. Oliver was sweating and twitched occasionally, but other than that showed no response.

 

Just as soon as Kara had gone to get water (for Oliver, of course) she heard him tumble out of the bed with a groan. She rushed back in to find him kneeling by the bucket, not throwing up but looking quite nauseous.

 

“Oliver?”

 

Oliver screwed his eyes shut when he heard Kara’s voice. He buried his head in his arms, which were resting on the rim of the bucket.

 

Kara softened her voice. “You okay?” she asked, but then grimaced. _Okay? Of course he’s not okay._ She registered the small shake of Oliver’s head.

 

“It’ll pass…” Kara said, kneeling down near Oliver but still a safe distance away. She noticed that he was still shivering, and pulled the blanket from before back over his quaking form. When her hand brushed his shoulder, Oliver flinched away, turning to Kara with wide eyes.

 

“P-please don’t touch me right now,” he said, sounding tired.

 

“Of course, of course. I’m sorry,” Kara whispered. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

Oliver didn’t respond, continuing to breathe heavily. Kara figured that might be good, though, if he was finally getting enough air into his lungs.

 

“Do you want me to leave?”

 

When Oliver remained silent, Kara started to get to her feet, but was stopped when Oliver’s hand reached out, doing nothing but lying flat on the floor. She sat down on her bed, wondering if she was supposed to talk.

 

“Oliver, can you promise me something?” Kara asked after a while. She'd taken out the partial braid in her hair by then.

 

“Mmm.”

 

“Next time you find yourself...approaching this feeling,” (she remembered he’d denied the term ‘panic attack’) “do try and get yourself away from what’s causing it.”

 

“I...couldn't.” Oliver said, leaning back against the bed.

 

“Will you admit that calling Felicity might've been a bad idea? I don't think it's wise to push yourself like that.”

 

“I had to,” said Oliver, quietly but in an unmistakably defensive tone.

 

“No, I don't think you did. Felicity’s not going anywhere.”

 

Oliver looked up at the ceiling; Kara thought he was pondering his response. Finally he exhaled. “I am.”

 

“Uh...where?” Kara forced a laugh at first, confused. “You’re not allowed  to leave until you’re feeling one-hundred percent,” she joked before a plausible meaning of his words sunk in.

 

A piercing heat rose behind her eyes and up her spine, and for the second time since she’d met Oliver, she was really, truly angry at him. “Oliver. Where.”

 

Oliver looked down, even turning his body to avoid looking at Kara. Kara slid off the couch and rolled to her knees, grabbing Oliver by the shoulders. After touching him, Kara remembered that Oliver had told her not to. She felt awful for thinking it, but she wasn't even sure if that mattered to her right then, because he needed to pay attention.

 

“ _Where, Oliver?!”_

 

Oliver still wouldn’t look at her when she turned his head to look in his eyes.

 

“I never had that option and neither will you!”

 

“I may not have a choice, Kara,” Oliver said quietly, finally meeting her eye.

 

“You always, _always_ have a choice.” Kara very nearly threw her arms around Oliver to hold him and keep him from going anywhere.

 

“No...one day---one day more wounds will open. And I’ll bleed out. I’d bleed out anyway.” Oliver said this so definitively that it brought Kara to tears.

 

“No... _no,_ you won’t. We’ll fix this, Oliver, we will.”

 

“No, hey, Kara. It’s okay. I’m---I’m okay with this. It’s better this way. You know I’ll hurt someone if this doesn’t end soon. I don’t want my memory to be tarnished by that.”

 

“If you were planning on---on doing this, when would you…? When I left for my date?” Kara choked on her words.

 

Oliver swallowed and silently nodded.

 

“Rao, oh---” Kara clasped a hand over her mouth, and before she knew it, Oliver had leaned forward and rested his chin on Kara’s shoulder, allowing her to encompass him in an embrace. Kara moved a hand to his hair and murmured soft words into his ear. It was an intimate gesture, but Kara was beyond caring about that. This was about a friend in need of comfort.

 

“Felicity said she loves you, Oliver. I don’t think you know what that means right now, but you will,” Kara whispered.

 

After several minutes, a shudder told Kara that Oliver was crying.

 

“I’m not going on that date. I’m not leaving you,” Kara stated softly, looking up at the ceiling. Lena would understand.

 

Not that she’d know the details.

 

Oliver pulled back, hair mussed and face red where it had been on Kara’s shoulder. “No, Kara. I’m not going to take that from you.”

 

“It’s not you that’s---”

 

“Kara!” Oliver shook his head.

 

“What?”

 

“Kara, I’ll go to the D.E.O.. I---I’ll have them lock me up. I promise I won’t hurt myself. That way…”

 

“No, no, you’re not going to have them ‘lock you up,’” Kara said. “Can you not see how completely inappropriate that is?”

 

Oliver sighed. “Fine. Fine, I’ll tell Alex about my condition.”

 

“You...really?” No way would Alex let _anything_ happen. This was probably just the kind of assurance Kara needed.

 

Oliver nodded, standing up and grimacing.

 

“Should I have her come here? I don’t know if you should be too...mobile.” Kara gently pushed him to sit back down on the bed.

 

“No. I could overpower her.”

 

“Even with your injury?”

 

Oliver sent Kara a look. “Usually I’m actually a bit more...vigilant...when I’ve got a physical connection to times I’ve needed to fight,” Oliver said honestly.

 

“I...alright. I won’t stay out too late with Lena.”

 

Oliver groaned.

 

“No arguments.”

  
  
  


Kara didn't quite know how to feel as she approached the restaurant, watching Lena look anxiously around, waiting for her. When their eyes met, Lena beamed, and Kara couldn't help but melt under the light her snow white teeth cast.

 

Kara felt guilty for being so darn _excited_ when Oliver was back at the D.E.O. probably stressing his injuries and wallowing in self hate. Oliver had made her promise to stay in the moment as much as she could, and not to worry about him ( _yeah right_ ). Separately, Alex had promised to keep Oliver occupied. Alex was understandably confused about the situation, but had seen enough strange things to believe the story.

 

Kara hurried across the road, realizing that she’d definitely noticed Lena’s smile---and other things---before, but hadn’t really known what it meant.

 

“Hi!” Kara announced. She absentmindedly reached for Lena’s hand, but caught herself---because the gesture might not be welcome yet---and tried to pass off the movement as moving to open the restaurant door, which, unfortunately, was at least two meters away. Behind Kara’s bumbling form, Lena rolled her eyes and lightly grasped at the fingers of Kara’s other hand.

 

Kara spun, eyes wide, but didn’t miss the opportunity. She quickly laced her fingers together with Lena’s.

 

“It’s good to see you,” Lena said once they finally made it through the door.

 

“I know, it feels like it’s been forever…”

 

“Danvers for two,” Lena said to a waitress, who told her to wait a moment while she found the reservation.

 

Lena turned to Kara, tugging her a bit closer so they didn’t block people coming and going with their arms. “I hope you don’t mind I’ve used your name. Didn’t want the seats cut out of our chairs or anything.”

 

Kara breathed a laugh, still unsure of exactly how to respond when Lena made jokes on the infamy of her last name. “Oh, it’s fine.”

 

The waitress led them over to a table in the corner of the somewhat dim room next to a window that viewed the sidewalk. The restaurant itself was rather modern-looking, with metal chairs, jars for candle holders, and wiry ceiling lights that well resembled ramen. A bamboo divider was the only thing that prevented guests---excluding Kara---from being able to see into the kitchen.

 

From behind, Kara could see that Lena had let her hair down, just as she herself had. Of course, Kara had seen down before, but this time it was untreated; more wavy and natural. She was wearing a loose floral blouse and a high-waisted skirt that went down to her knees.

 

Lena sat down with her back to the window and Kara took the opposite seat. Menus were placed in their hands and they said their thanks while maintaining eye contact with each other.

 

When the staring became a bit awkward, Kara half-pretended to read the menu. She was forced to look up again when Lena cleared her throat.

 

“Look, I don't wat to make this awkward. You know, kill the mood, but I really have to ask,” Lena said, and Kara nodded to show that she was listening. Inside, she dreaded the worst. “What is this...to you...tonight?”

 

Kara laughed nervously. “I—is this a trick question…” A small shake of the head from Lena told Kara no. “A date.” She left out the ‘obviously’ that sat on her tongue

 

“And...me?”

 

“Romantic interest,” Kara stated, reveling in the elation she felt when Lena’s face lit up.

 

“That's...fantastic. That's marvelous,” Lena giggled. Kara soon joined in.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contrasting themes, eh. I think I'll do more of the SuperCorp date in the next chapter, if thats what people want to see. Thank you for reading ;)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out I haven’t died! It’s been four months or something—I’m so sorry! I started high school and apparently that sucks away motivation. (Also I started some other fins in new fandoms hehe..he). I haven’t abandoned this though!

By now Kara and Lena had moved closer to each other so that they could whisper and their conversation couldn’t be overheard. They were seated on at a square table that was probably too small to hold all the food they had ordered, but now sat huddled around one of the corners. They had finished their food, and were now drinking wines. 

 

“Rao, that’s awful. I can’t believe that people like that still exist in this day and age.” Kara scowled. Lena had just told her of her nemesis’s—Morgan Edge—recent corruption.

 

“I know. Part of me wishes that your friend would just go after him,” Lena said, pouring herself some more sake.

 

“I don’t know if he makes a habit of interrogating corrupt businessmen.”

 

“He did seem practiced.”

 

“I think you’re aware that that’s not really the way I...do things,” Kara said.

 

“I know.”

 

“But in this case I don’t know how much I’d object.” She pulled out her hair from where it had been tucked into the back of her shirt; it had posed difficulties when she was eating her ramen.

 

“What time is it? Can we order dessert?” Lena asked.

 

Kara reached into the purse that was hanging on the back of her chair to check the time on her phone. Her heart went cold when she saw that she had eight missed calls.

 

“It’s eight twenty-four. Go ahead and order, we can share however many,” Kara said distractedly as she looked through her phone, fearing the worst. She was fully prepared to just  _ leave. _

 

_ Where is Oliver? He’s not okay. I need to talk to him.  _

 

Messages from Felicity.

 

Okay, thank Rao.

 

“I’m so sorry, Lena. I need to take this. I’ll be back.”

 

Lena nodded knowingly, probably thinking that Kara was heading off to go fight crime. Kara pulled herself around a corner into the hallway that led to the kitchen and bathrooms. She called back Felicity’s number.

 

“Hi. This is Kara,” Kara said quietly into the phone, still on some level worried that their different time speeds would interfere with their call despite having made calls before that proved themselves to work fine.

 

_ “Kara, yes, this is Felicity!” _ Despite the fast pace of her words, Felicity’s voice seemed purposely controlled. “What is going on?” It was obvious that Felicity had many more questions, but decided for an encompassing one. 

 

“Umm…”  _ so much  _ “...what do you know?” Kara asked.

 

“ _ I know that my boyfriend broke his best friend’s leg in a panic, jumped out of a window, disappeared for ten days—which wouldn’t be that concerning because he disappears every year after the, er, showdown, but I later find out that he’s in a literal different universe—then called Digg on your phone and couldn’t seem to speak to me. Something’s wrong. Something’s seriously wrong. I need to talk to him,”  _ Felicity said in a hurry. Part of Kara did wish that the difference in time passage would slow her down a bit.

 

“He’s—“ Kara pursed her lips, worried about breaching Oliver’s trust and privacy. Felicity did have a right to know what was going on, and could likely help in Oliver’s recovery. She sighed. “Ra’s al Ghul’s brainwashing was more effective than Oliver anticipated; he used the...um…the ‘Lazarus’ pit to heal wounds he inflicted on Oliver in order to drive him to kill by its magic. And...if he—if he doesn’t kill then his wounds reopen.” She said the last part at a speed to rival Felicity’s, trying to get it out quickly in order not to dwell on it.

 

For a stretched moment, there was silence on the other end of the line. “ _ This is why he told Diggle to monitor Thea.” _

 

Kara nodded solemnly before remembering she was talking on the phone. “Yeah,” she said hurriedly.

 

_ “And has Oliver killed?” _

 

Kara thought Felicity sounded alarmingly okay with the idea of Oliver killing someone. “Well...a half life. A monster. It doesn’t seem to have really helped; a wound of his reopened—“

 

“ _ Oh my god is he okay?!” _

 

“If he wasn’t, I would’ve led with that,” Kara said. “I think. He’s got eyes on him now. Doctors just around the corner.”

 

_ “You should ask him if there are life threatening wounds that risk being...reopened. Can you, like, bandage him beforehand?” _

 

“I don’t think that’s how it works, but I will ask. But there’s...something else.” Kara heard her voice crack and she swallowed. This was very private. “He’s accepted that the bloodlust will likely kill him.” Kara resigned not to tell her about Oliver possibly wanting to end his life himself. That was for Oliver to tell alone.

 

_ “Please.  _ Please  _ take care of him.”  _ It was clear that Felicity was crying now, her words barely intelligible.  _ “I know why he’s left. He thinks he’ll hurt us. He’s terrified.” _

 

“Felicity, listen to me: I will find a way to save him. There has to be some sort of cure, or loophole. Oliver is strong, and he will make it through this.”

 

_ “Right. Of course. It wouldn’t make sense for this to be irreversible—to the League. There must be some sort of cure.” _

 

“Yes! You have contacts—friendly ones—within the League of Assassins, right? Umm...Ny-nyssa?”

 

_ “Yeah, I’ll get on her ass right away but...can I see him?” _

 

Kara sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if that’s a good idea right now. I’ll talk it over with Oliver but he had a panic attack the last time he tried to speak with you.”

 

There was a sniff before Felicity seemed to right herself.  _ “Of course. Just...keep me updated. Please. And tell Oliver to take all the time he needs; we’re all here for him. Or will be. Or our souls reach through the interdimensional plane...or the phone...please say something that makes more sense.” _

 

Kara chuckled at Felicity’s chatter, wiping her nose on her wrist. “I will.”

 

“Thank you. _ Goodbye.” _

 

“Bye.”

  
  


Alex and Oliver leaned over circular table in a private room, examining the blueprints of an abandoned car factory—Lexus—that they believed to be another Cadmus base. Many unmarked trucks had passed been filing by to a nearby alleyway, and they were looking for a point of entry for a covert infiltration. At Oliver’s insistence, one of his hands was handcuffed to the side of the table opposite Alex.

 

“—And there’s no way to track traces of the black kryptonite?” Oliver asked. The two were discussing possible uses for the facility, and manufacturing bioweapons was near the top of the list. 

 

“No, it’s an artificial and completely undocumented compound made with alien components; our scanners won’t detect it as fused.”

 

“Hm. It’s also unlikely that they have much more than what we recovered at the warehouse, considering how reinforced it was.”

 

“Well, samples are in the lab now so we might be able to find where some of the elements are being extracted.”

 

“And following the trucks has gotten us nowhere.” Oliver huffed, still wishing he had Felicity to hack into their mainframe, or disable their anti-tracking technology (which was more heavily augmented than the tracks that led them to the previous warehouse). 

 

Silence fell yet again, and Alex turned the large sheet to the next floor of the factory, where they continued to study.

 

After a few minutes, Alex exhaled sharply. “I can’t believe what I said to Kara. It was—I was stupid.”

 

Oliver looked up at her, but didn’t respond.

 

“I’m...guessing you know a lot about this situation,” she said.

 

Oliver nodded. “I think it was fine to be incredulous, just because of the argument that preceded Kara’s announcement,” Oliver said, speaking carefully. “However, she’s discovering a lot about herself and was expecting a certain amount of support from you, I think.”

 

Alex threw her hands up. “Which I’ll give her! I just—I needed to be  _ sure  _ first, you know?”

 

“Directly from the role of Protective Older Sibling, I do know. God, you should’ve seen some of the guys Thea brought home…” Oliver smiled, but was then hit with a wave of guilt over what he had let happen to his sister.

 

“But Kara doesn’t need me to kick the asses of horny guys, she needs someone who understands her and can be there. I feel like I blew it.”

 

“You’re right. She does need a sister—she won’t throw one away. You just need to show your support in other ways. Subtler ones so she doesn’t think you’re just sucking up.”

 

Alex sighed. “I kinda am, though, aren’t I?”

 

“Well...technically. It’d be hard to help her if she won’t listen to her in the first place. You’re sucking up  _ for  _ her, I suppose. It’ll be best to get it out of the way.”

 

“Okay.” Alex nodded. “Yeah. Got a new mission now. Operation: kiss ass without Kara noticing.”

 

“Eh...can’t abandon  _ this _ mission yet.” Oliver looked back down at the papers on the table.

 

They were silent for a few more minutes, Alex frowning.

 

“I found something,” Oliver finally said. Alex started walking around to stand next to him, but he sent her a look that told her just to bend over the table.

  
  


“Hey— _ wow,  _ looks like I walked in on something!” Mon-el burst into the room, eyeing Oliver’s handcuff and his and Alex’s close proximity over the table.

 

“Oh wow.” Oliver couldn’t even tell if Mon-el was joking or what.

 

Alex growled in annoyance. “Mon-el. I  _ just  _ introduced you to my girlfriend.”

 

Mon-el raised his hands up. “Hey, nothing says you can’t have some extra fun.”

 

Oliver glared. “Why are you even here?” There’s no way anyone had sent him to actually help.

 

“Uh…” Mon-el thought for a moment, scratching the back of his head. “Hank wants you for some reason.”

 

Oliver was silent for a pointed moment. “And where is he?”

 

Mon-el shrugged exaggeratedly.

 

Alex sighed dramatically and pulled the key from her pocket that would realease Oliver from his handcuffs. Oliver continued staring Mon-el down as she undid them, daring him to say something.

 

She followed him as he brushed past Mon-el through the door, having been instructed to stay by him at all times.

  
  


“This was fun,” Kara said as she waited with Lena for her taxi. She meant it. The two were holding hands and Kara’s brain couldn’t quite process anything coming out of the touch except happiness.

 

Lena seemed to be startled out of her thoughts. “So fun, yeah! We should do it again sometime soon! Well, maybe not the same place, but I know there’s a Saturday farmers market tomorrow. There’s always good food. It opens at 10:30, I think. Want to go with me?”

 

“YES.”  _ Darnit, Kara, don’t sound so eager. _

 

“I’m glad! I love eating food that I  _ know _ where it comes from.”

 

Kara could practically  _ feel  _ the light bulb that went off in her head.

 

“Um...could I maybe bring a friend? I don’t want to leave him alone for too long…”

 

“Is it... _ that  _ friend?”

 

Kara nodded. She felt a bit bad.

 

“I’d love to meet him properly.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I was doing with Oliver and Alex honestly. Fake science.
> 
> You’ll probably noticed this is shorter than usual (and unedited) but at least I wrote something!


End file.
